Premature baby unit at NNUH wins national award

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has won an award from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Maternity (APPGM).

A total of six units were named highly commended at the awards, which acknowledge inspiring or innovative work in improving local maternity services. The awards were presented at the APPGM summer reception, on Monday 19 July at the Terrace Pavilion, Houses of Parliament.

The APPGM, which is serviced by the NCT charity, is a cross-party group whose aim is to highlight maternity issues within Parliament and bring together health professionals and service users with politicians.

The reception hosted by the new Chair of the APPGM, Dr Dan Poulter MP, was attended by 200 guests including Anne Milton MP, Minister for Public Health, Prof. Rona McCandlish from the Department of Health, Belinda Phipps, Chief Executive of the NCT, MPs, Peers, leading health professionals and user representatives from maternity services across the UK.

Dr Dan Poulter MP, Chair of the APPGM, said: “It is a privilege to present these awards to such deserving and exemplary maternity units. The winning units’ innovative work will be an inspiration to other Trusts”

Belinda Phipps, Chief Executive of NCT, who sponsor the awards said: “We are celebrating the success of these awards as excellent examples of what can be achieved through committed staff, hard work and innovation in services.”

The awards were presented in five different categories, and the team at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital won the award for:

Responsive, woman-centred, family-focused postnatal care:

• Winner – Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (Care pathway for end of life care)

This innovative, family-focused service offers a care pathway from a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to home or hospice. It was developed after two families lost babies and another’s baby survived beyond expectations. The unit wanted to ensure excellent palliative care for babies with life-limiting conditions, and a real choice for parents as to how and where their baby would be cared for. A training package was designed to educate staff about care that can be provided by a hospice and how to use the care pathway to ensure rapid transfer of babies for end of life care. Evidence indicates that quality of life for families is improved when babies are transferred to a hospice or home with this support.

Last year the Norwich NICU nursing team also won the prestigious Nursing Times award for Team of The year for their joint work with the University of East Anglia School of Nursing and Midwifery and Quidenham Hospice.

The three organisations worked together to develop the very first service in the country to create a care pathway for babies who go from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for palliative care at Quidenham Hospice or at their own home with hospice support.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse manager Amanda Williamson said: “I was delighted to visit the Houses of Parliament on our team's behalf to be presented with this prestigious award. I am very proud of the whole team and everyone who contributed to making this happen”.