RVI’s Special Care Baby Unit receives Mother & Baby “Big Hearts 2012 Award”
The Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) is delighted to have been awarded the Mother & Baby “Big Hearts 2012 Award” as Neonatal Unit of the Year, at a special ceremony held at the Park Lane Hilton, London on Monday 16th January 2012.
These annual awards are “the people’s choice” - a celebration of unsung heroes, and a chance to thank the friends, relatives and medical teams who look after premature or sick babies and their families.
Each year Mother & Baby magazine, in conjunction with Bliss (the national special care baby charity), invite nominations from parents on a range of categories, including Neonatal Unit of the year. The RVI’s SCBU was a hugely popular choice this year, receiving nominations from three mums across the region - Bev Wright, from Ryton, Gillian Baty from Heaton and Marina Dodgson, from Gosforth – after they and their families received very special care at the RVI.
Gillian’s six year old daughter, Ruby, also won the “Brilliant Big Sister” award at the same ceremony for keeping a beside vigil with her mum and dad when her little sister Lexi was born three months premature and weighing just 1lb 4oz.
The award was given not just for the excellent service within the unit but also in recognition of the whole team “going that extra mile” to provide the necessary family support, which is just as important as high quality healthcare for the well-being and care of the baby.
Left to right: Yve Collingwood, Matron with Claire Campbell, Senior Staff Nurse
Yve Collingwood, Matron of the Neonatal Unit says, "This award is all the more special as the nursing and medical team have been recognised for their hard work and dedication by the parents who have seen and experienced the service given by the whole team first hand. The RVI’s Neonatal Unit is the centre of excellence for neonatal care for the Northern Region and it is very important we continue to strive to achieve high standards across all areas of the service and be an exemplar for all to follow. It is a privilege to work with such a fantastic and dedicated team. Well done to everyone.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact Lynn Watson at the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust via email: lynn.watson@nuth.nhs.uk or ring 0191 223 1543.
Notes to Editors:
The Neonatal Service based at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle was established in 1993 and is one of the largest in the UK, caring for more than 600 babies every year. Many of these are sick babies who have been born premature – last year the unit cared for almost 180 babies born more than 8 weeks early, of whom 60 babies were born extremely premature (more than 12 weeks early). The unit is staffed by over 120 specially trained neonatal nurses who provide care for 34 babies at any one time, and is supported by a team of 6 neonatal consultants and 20 junior paediatricians. The unit boasts some of the best outcomes in the UK for babies born prematurely.
Bliss, the special care baby charity, is dedicated to ensuring that all babies born too soon, too small or too sick in the UK have the best possible chance of survival and of reaching their full potential. It does this by:
- providing practical and emotional support for families during an extremely difficult time, so they can give the best care to their babies.
- providing training and support for doctors and nurses, funding specialist Bliss Family-Centred Care Nurses in hospitals and funding research to improve the care of all premature and sick babies
- raising awareness of the issues affecting special care babies and fight for essential change within government and the NHS.
For more information about Bliss, visit www.bliss.org.uk
The Bliss freephone family support helpline number is 0500 618 140
