Improving neonatal care for babies in Wales

As a result of Bliss’s campaigning work, The National Assembly for Wales has recently launched a report looking at neonatal services in Wales. They have been lobbying for change in Wales since we launched our Baby Report last November and we hope this will lead to better care for all babies in Wales.

An inquiry was set up to assess progress in delivery of the All Wales neonatal standards which were published in December 2008. Unfortunately, the findings show that since then little real progress has been made to the care of babies and their families in Wales. One of the key areas to be reviewed is the shortage of neonatal nurses for premature and sick babies. The report also highlights the following recommendations:

• Ensuring that the staffing ratio guidelines are in compliance with the British Association of Perinatal Medicine’s minimum standards. This includes one nurse to care for one baby in intensive care
• Ensuring better support for families of sick and premature babies including accommodation and identifying the needs of parents
• Ensuring the implementation of a 12 hour transport service as soon as possible.

We hope that the report will lead to the necessary changes to ensure better services for premature and sick babies. To see the report in full please click here

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