New specialist service for Norfolk and Suffolk

Bliss the special care baby charity announces a new nursing post to support families of premature and sick babies in the East of England. The Bliss Nurse will be based at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) but will work across Norfolk and Suffolk to support families in these areas.

Ghislaine Watson, formerly a midwife at the NNUH is now the new Bliss family-centred care nurse. Ghislaine comes to the role with a wealth of maternity experience and her commitment is to support parents and provide them with information and support during what is an extremely challenging and difficult time.

The Bliss Nurse will be based in the neonatal unit of the Norfolk and Norwich hospital and will support a number of hospitals (Ipswich, Kings Lynn and James Paget) who care for small and sick babies, to ensure parents are supported when their baby is admitted to neonatal care. She will not only support families through these stressful times, but also ensure that the neonatal units have consistent, high quality family-centred care available for babies and families.

Caring for a premature or sick baby’s entire family is widely recognised as a crucial part of their overall clinical care, making a positive contribution to the long-term health and wellbeing of the child.

Ghislaine said, “I am really excited to start this new role in Norwich. Being on a neonatal unit is daunting and stressful for parents and I hope I can bring some normality back into their lives. I aim to involve parents as much as possible and make them feel an important part of their babies care.”

Ruth Ashmore from the Perinatal Network said “We are delighted as a Network to support and develop this unique role in partnership with Bliss and the NNUH. Families need practical help, emotional support and solutions through these difficult times, as well as dedicated medical and nursing care for their baby. This role will ensure families are at the heart of care and fully involved in supporting and nurturing the parental bond right from the start.”

Jane Abbott, Head of Programmes at Bliss said, “We are thrilled to be introducing this important role to help families of premature and sick babies in the Norwich and Suffolk area. This is a very exciting and positive step to ensure the whole family is being supported and cared for at what is a very stressful and challenging time.”

Notes for editors

Bliss, the special care baby charity, is dedicated to ensuring that all babies born too soon, too small or too sick in the UK have the best possible chance of survival and of reaching their full potential. It does this by:

• providing practical and emotional support for families during an extremely difficult time, so they can give the best care to their babies.
• providing training and support for doctors and nurses, funding specialist Bliss Family-Centred Care Nurses in hospitals and funding research to improve the care of all premature and sick babies
• 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