Funding call for premature babies

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A report published by the charity Bliss has criticised the facilities available in Wales for premature babies

More funding for hospital services for premature babies is needed to end 30 years of overstretched and understaffed Welsh neonatal units, a charity says.

Bliss, which supports premature and sick babies, said more pressure was likely to be put on hospitals as the birth rate in Wales increases.

It called for more specialist staff and improved transport between hospitals.

The assembly government said it is working on improvements, including a 12-hour hospital transport system.

In a report to mark its 30th anniversary, Bliss said problems in neonatal care date back beyond 1979 when the charity started.

It said that in Wales, 4,000 premature and sick babies are born each year in need of specialist hospital care - and that is likely to rise.

Karen Dunlop's son Charlie was born 10 weeks early, weighing 3lb 7oz I have nothing but praise for the staff who helped us when Charlie was born, however the experience highlighted how the system really needs to be improved. I went to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff when Charlie was on the way. But because they didn't have a spare cot I had to wait for an ambulance to take me to Singleton hospital in Swansea. It was a bit distressing and stressful as, at the time, I had never been in an ambulance before. After Charlie was born we had to stay in Singleton for six weeks. It was a difficult time for us as my husband had to care for our three-year-old daughter while making regular visits to Swansea, which is quite a way from our home in Penarth. Luckily his employer was very sympathetic but that might not be the case for everyone. I really feel more investment is needed - adults have one-to-one nurse care in intensive care but babies have one nurse between three of them. It's not fair on the staff. It just seems as if the system is a bit of a lottery. You never know how many babies will be born prematurely so if there are only a few, hospitals can cope, but as soon as there's a surge they can't.

But, unlike England and Scotland, Wales does not yet have a dedicated 24-hour neonatal transport service to transfer mothers and babies between hospitals to receive the specialist care they need.

The charity said £2m of assembly government funding announced in April was "welcome" but would only pay for a 12-hour transport service and would not help babies born in the night.

"[This] means that babies born in the middle of the night will have to rely on an ad-hoc service and may not get the care they desperately need," it said.

The All Wales Neonatal Standards published by the Welsh Assembly Government in December 2008 recognised that special care baby services are in crisis.

It recommended a dedicated transport team, one to one nursing in intensive care for babies, and an increased focus on the care of the whole family.

Andy Cole, chief executive of Bliss, said the report and funding was "an important first step".

"But there is still a long way to go. We call on the Welsh Assembly Government to bring the care of our most vulnerable babies and their families up to the highest possible standard and to invest in the children of tomorrow," he said.

A spokesman for the assembly government said: "Bliss has participated in an expert group that has developed proposals for a way forward, which the minister is now considering.

"A neonatal clinical network will be developed to improve the quality of care for newborns at all hospitals.

"The proposal for implementation of a 12-hour transfer service will allow sustainable development of services in Wales, and provides for training and development of existing staff to enable planned progress towards a 24-hour transfer service."