Staff on Royal Bolton Hospital’s Neonatal Unit have received praise for their hard work to improve the support they offer to parents of new born babies on their neonatal journey.

A report by the North West Neonatal Operational Delivery Network assessed the unit for FiCare (Family Integrated Care), looking at staff and parent education, the neonatal environment and the psychosocial support that is available.

‘Great teamwork’ and ‘a number of positive initiatives to deliver FiCare’ are highlighted in the final report, with assessors writing that it was encouraging to see some parents taking part in the care of their baby.

The report states ‘parents expressed their gratitude to the team for the care they have received at Royal Bolton Hospital’, that ‘parents felt supported in caring for their babies’ and ‘could approach staff if they had worries or concerns’.

‘Parents part of the care team’

Hannah Pye, Senior Neonatal Practitioner and FiCare Co-ordinator at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said:

Alongside our FiCare Co-ordinators Kathy Moses and Alison Ventress, we have worked as team to embrace and embed FiCare into our culture to make sure that we can provide the best possible care and support to our babies and their families.

“We are really pleased to have been awarded an Amber status, which reflects everything we have achieved so far in making our parents feel welcome and part of the care team.

“There is so much more we want to do, and over the next twelve months we will continue to develop initiatives to make sure what we offer is the best it can be.

FiCare is a model that supports and educates parents and carers to become an integral part of their baby’s care in partnership with the neonatal team, from the moment a baby is admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

It was also observed by the assessing team that parents and staff had created good relationships, led by ‘effective, strong and passionate leadership’ who are working to improve the experience babies and families receive.

Tyrone Roberts, Chief Nurse at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, added:

I’m really proud of our Neonatal team for championing FiCare and working to make sure parents and carers can play a key role in their baby’s care.

“By incorporating this model we will be able to reduce stress and anxiety for families and improve the relationship that they have with our staff by bringing them in to the bedside care routine.

The report also recognised the impact COVID-19 had on visiting and how the neonatal team had ‘worked extremely hard to ensure full parental access following COVID’, and that it was ‘excellent to see the return of siblings, grandparents and a nominated support person’.

Hannah added:

It’s our ambition to go further in developing FiCare in Neonatal by making sure both staff and parents are fully aware of the support we provide.

“This is only the beginning and I know the team are looking forward to introducing more initiatives to make sure our parents and babies are well looked after.

Royal Bolton Hospital’s Neonatal Unit is one of three centres of excellence within Greater Manchester providing specialist care to sick and preterm infants, for more information please visit the website.