Flying Colours

As part of our work to update and enhance the Women’s Hospital, the Flying Colours Appeal is now raising funds for a new Special Care Baby Unit.

Why we need a new Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU)

Very premature babies and babies born with serious health problems need immediate support in a specially designed environment, so it is essential that every region has a suitable facility. Our Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) in the Women’s Hospital provides this immediate support, but it is not big enough and does not give families the privacy and dignity that they deserve at this most challenging of times.

Around 200 babies every year are placed in the Special Care Baby Unit and many will stay for several weeks until they are well enough to be looked after by their parents. It can be babies who are premature, babies who are not well and also babies who are born with a dependency caused by their mother using addictive drugs during pregnancy.

Babies who are dependent on a substance cry virtually incessantly for days on end and can cause great distress to their family and other families using the facilities. For those people whose babies have been born early and have had difficulty breathing without assistance, it is important for them to have some privacy to deal with the situation and this is difficult when they are sitting right next to another family and a very distressed baby. The amount of specialist equipment needed in the unit is enormous and when a baby does become suddenly ill and equipment is needed, it fills all of the existing space, which again can cause distress and certainly reduces patient privacy and dignity.

Another issue is the high number of multiple births in the South West. We very regularly have twins and triplets in the unit and it is obviously important that they are kept together. If the unit is particularly busy, it is sometimes necessary to send triplets to a hospital elsewhere in the South West and this is very unsettling and often extremely upsetting for the parents at a time when they want to be as close to home as possible.

Our solution

We are trying to raise £500,000 to build a new Special Care Baby Unit on an existing flat roof of the Women’s Hospital, thereby making the most of our existing space, retaining the necessary links with the rest of our maternity services and avoiding the huge cost of starting a new build elsewhere.  The new unit will have lots of space between cots, more privacy for mums, more space for critical equipment, better security, more space for visitors, a private room for staff to talk to families and a room for families to relax and spend time with their baby while they are visiting. One of the most unfortunate aspects of having a baby in Special Care is that mother and baby are not able to stay together so having some comfortable space for visits is absolutely essential. There will be more space for staff and equipment in the new unit and a better environment overall for families and staff dealing with very serious issues.

If you want to find out more about the Flying Colours Appeal or would like to support it by holding a fundraising event or making a donation please call Sarah Cherry on 01935 383020 or 07920 207914 or email her at Sarah.Cherry@ydh.nhs.uk.