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A mum and dad from Thurrock have raised over £1,000, helping to buy specialist baby clothing for the paediatric orthopaedics physiotherapy department at Basildon Hospital.

With the money raised, Abi and Matt Skinner were able to buy over 220 clothing items to benefit babies undergoing treatment for Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH), a condition where the ‘ball and socket’ joint of the hip does not properly form.

Treatment involves the 24-hour use of a Pavlik harness for a minimum of six weeks, which secures hips in a stable, open position and allows the hips to develop as they would normally.

The couple decided to help give something back to the hospital when their baby Albie, now aged four months, was diagnosed with DDH, meaning that the clothes the family had already bought couldn’t be worn, as the need for a harness to treat his hips meant that standard baby clothes would no longer fit with the position his harness placed his legs into.

Abi said: “Receiving the news that Albie needed to be fitted with a harness was a difficult day, but the support from the team made it a little easier. When we found out Albie would need specialist clothing it was a shock, but the brand-new sleepsuits we were given by the team at the hospital made me feel a lot better that I was able to dress my son.

“I will be forever grateful for the help and support the team provided, so when I noticed that the clothing supply they had was a bit sparse, I knew I had to do something.”

Alice Farrell, Musculoskeletal and Orthopaedic Paediatric Physiotherapy Lead at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The success rate of using the harness worn by Albie is incredibly high, but we know the diagnosis of DDH is hard on parents to begin with. Being able to send parents home with an item or two of clothing until they can buy new ones makes a real difference.

“Abi and Matt’s generous fundraising is appreciated so much by our team and will improve the entire family experience for many.”