Charitable funding has enabled our neonatal unit to modernise its nurseries, offices, reception and parent facilities, after refurbishment works were completed at the end of May 2022.

Parents can often spend 16 to 18 hours a day with their baby, so it is important the unit provides up-to-date facilities, in a calm and homely environment that helps to make them feel more at ease. The lounge is now equipped with a kitchen area that incorporates a coffee machine and microwave, while the parents’ bedroom has been moved into the unit and includes a shower and WC next door. This room is also big enough to accommodate a pull-out bed, providing both parents with the option to stay. For mums who may need to take ‘time out’ from the nursery or may find it more comfortable expressing away from the bedside, there is now a bright and private space for them to concentrate on producing enough milk for their babies. Moving the bedroom has also created the space for a staff room, so those working on the unit can enjoy some downtime.

Neonatal Matron Marie Richter said:

“Everyone who works in the unit is so thrilled with what we now have. We are so grateful to all who generously contributed. As parents are welcome to visit their babies 24 hours a day, we wanted to ensure they could eat, drink and rest on the unit in surroundings that are as comfortable and as calm as we could make them.”