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Kirsty Williams AM visits Royal Gwent's sick and premature babies
March 23, 2009 12:00 AM
Kirsty Williams AM, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats is today visiting the staff caring for premature and sick babies in the neonatal unit at Royal Gwent NHS Trust. The visit, organised by Bliss, the special care baby charity, aims to raise awareness of the provision of care available for premature and sick newborns nationally and the issues their parents face.
In Wales 3,800 premature and sick babies are born each year who need specialist hospital care, yet the neonatal services to care for them are overstretched and understaffed, said Bliss' 2008 annual report Baby Steps to Better Care /Camau bach at ofal gwell. To meet the minimum nurse staffing standard set out by the British Association of Perinatal Medicine in 2001, the number of nurses needed in Wales needs to increase by a third.
Kirsty Williams AM said "I am delighted to have the opportunity to visit the Royal Gwent neonatal unit and see first hand the amazing work that is being carried out to help premature and sick babies and their families. I am supporting Bliss's campaign for more specially trained neonatal nurses so that we can have the required one to one nursing. All babies deserve the best start in life and I hope this visit will help to raise awareness of the campaign."
Carol Shillabeer, Womens and Childrens Services Manager, Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust says "We are very much looking forward to meeting Kirsty and showing her the work that is carried out on the Special Care Baby Unit, during her visit she will also be able to meet some parents of the babies currently in our care."
Andy Cole, Bliss Chief Executive, comments: "Amazing care is being provided to premature and sick babies and their families at Royal Gwent Hospital every day, but doctors and nurses are being increasingly stretched to the limit. One to one nursing care is the minimum standard for anyone admitted to intensive care in the UK. Currently this standard is met for children and adults but not for babies. At Bliss, we are dedicated to ensuring that these standards are achieved across Wales. It is essential for the doctors and nurses at Royal Gwent to be given the resources they need to care for our most vulnerable babies."
Notes to Editors
• Bliss, the special care baby charity was founded in 1979 and is dedicated to ensuring that babies survive and go on to have the best quality of life. It does this by:
o providing practical and emotional support for families during an extremely difficult time, so they can give the best care to their babies.
o providing training and support for doctors and nurses and funding research to improve the care of all sick and premature babies
o 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
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