New specialist service for South West London Hospital

New specialist service for South West London Hospital - A Family Centred Care Coordinator

Two leading baby charities have joined forces to create a new and innovative position to provide care for families of premature and sick babies in South West London.

First Touch, supporting sick and premature babies at St George’s, and Bliss, the special care baby charity, are working together with St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust in Tooting and the South West London Perinatal Network to ensure the very best care is delivered to parents at what is an extremely challenging and difficult time.

The first ever Family Centred Care Coordinator post is being funded by the two charities for an initial term of three years. The Coordinator will be based in the neonatal unit of St George’s hospital and will work with the 600 families whose baby is admitted to neonatal care each year to provide information and support. They will not only support families through these stressful times, but also ensure that the neonatal unit has consistent, high quality family-centred care available for babies and families. Caring for a premature or sick baby’s entire family is widely recognised as a crucial part of their overall clinical care, making a positive contribution to the long-term health and wellbeing of the child.

There is a severe shortage of nurses caring for the UK’s sickest babies and this role, while working directly with families, will also engage with colleagues to improve practice across the South West London Network. This is a very proactive approach being taken by the charities to help address a serious and ongoing issue within neonatal care. The full time post will be shared between Bobbie Everson and Lyndsey Hookway who will both be in post by the end of June2011.

Bobbie said, "The start of family life is extremely important and it has been shown that the way in which new mothers and fathers cope with their roles as parents, greatly influences their own well-being and the physical and emotional health of their baby. I am so pleased to be working with St George’s Neonatal Unit Charity First Touch, Bliss and the SW London Perinatal Network in this vital new role. Providing support and education in order to empower parents will help to improve the experience of the family whilst on the neonatal unit and beyond."

Lyndsey said, “I am delighted to be working in conjunction with Bliss, First Touch, and St George’s in this exciting new role. Family centred care is such an important aspect of the treatment that babies on the neonatal unit and their families receive. I hope that this role will become a common feature of many neonatal units, as new training, evidence and policy is generated for the benefit of our smallest patients and their families."

Doris Jackman Head of Nursing Newborn Services and Lead Nurse SWL Perinatal Network said, “We are thrilled and excited about this new initiative. The FCC coordinator will make a huge difference to the care we can provide to babies and their families. The neonatal intensive care environment can be very overwhelming for parents and the FCC coordinator will help promote early maternal-infant attachment through support, communication and education. The role will complement the counsellor’s work in helping parents resolve the emotional crisis of having a preterm or sick newborn baby on a neonatal unit.”

Sarah Collins, charity manager at First Touch said, “First Touch has a long standing commitment to funding family welfare initiatives at St George's neonatal unit, so we were delighted to be approached by Bliss and asked to collaborate on this exciting new venture. The Family Centred Care Coordinator will be a marvelous resource for our families.” Jane Abbott, Head of Programmes at Bliss said, “We are thrilled to be launching this new role at St George’s Hospital in conjunction with First Touch, to help families of premature and sick babies in South West London. This is a very exciting and positive step to ensure the whole family is being supported and cared for at what is a very stressful and challenging time.”