Meet our neonatal services at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Foundation Trust
This World Prematurity Day (Tuesday 17 November) we’re celebrating the work of our ambitious, brave and compassionate teams that are by the sides of thousands of babies and families each year – both at our Women’s and Children’s Hospitals.
Our dedicated staff care for babies for a number of reasons; the main ones being:
- They have been born prematurely
- They have a low birth weight
- They have a specific medical condition which requires treatment in hospital (for example, cardiac problem, surgical or medical problem)
- They have congenital or genetic conditions
At both hospital sites there are a number of different services that offer care depending on the baby’s diagnosis or specialty. This variety of settings allows us to deliver the best and most effective care possible. Our care across both sites are supported by Kids Intensive Care and Decision Support & Neonatal Transfer Service (KIDS and NTS)
Our Women’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit has 41 cots and cares for some of the most poorly babies from across the region, In addition, we’re home to an 11-bed transitional care ward where mum and their little ones can stay together.
When babies are well enough to go home they are supported post-discharge by the Neonatal Outreach Team (NCOT) as they continue their journeys in their family home.
Over at our Children’s Hospital we have a dedicated Neonatal Surgical Ward (NSW) with around 40 staff. As a regional centre we care babies requiring surgery, which ranges from short-stay hernia operations to some of the most complex procedures, including oesophageal atresia – a rare birth defect that affects a baby's oesophagus (the tube through which food passes from the mouth to the stomach), The upper part of the oesophagus doesn't connect with the lower oesophagus and stomach. It usually ends in a pouch, which means food can't reach the stomach.
Along with our NSW a range of our team help care for neonates including:
- Ward 11 (for cardiac specialty babies)
- Ward 2 (for medical specialty babies)
- Emergency Department (ED)
- Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
- Pediatric Assessment Unit (PAU)
- Medical High Dependency Unit (MHDU)
We also have a Neonatal Surgical Outreach Service that supports staff across other neonatal units; providing clinical care and education. The service supports around 80 babies a year post surgery and has helped reduce the number of babies that have to go outside of the Midlands for their surgery.
Thank-you to every member of our Team BWC who are by the sides of our babies and families.