Celebrating 25 years of the Neonatal Outreach team
This year is the 25th anniversary of our Neonatal Outreach service, a lifeline for many new parents when their babies are discharged with ongoing needs.
Launched in September 2000 at the old N&N, the team was one of the first Neonatal Outreach services in the country. They facilitate earlier discharge and support families caring for their babies with feeding tubes, home oxygen, cardiac and surgical conditions and palliative care. They visit nearly 300 families every year, travelling up to 20,000 miles around Norfolk.
Early discharge enables improved patient flow on NICU but it’s not just about flow, as Charlotte Devereux, Senior Sister, explains: “Babies thrive at home with their families. Our priority on NICU is to support parents to learn to care for their baby at home as soon as possible. Reducing hospital admission reduces stress, improves bonding, attachment, breastfeeding and developmental outcomes”
Not all hospitals currently have outreach teams working in their neonatal units. The NNUH team is small, with just three nurses providing the service seven days a week. The team manage their caseload on NICU and liaise with the neonatal team each day. They attend nursing handover, organise discharges and endeavour to introduce the service to parents in preparation for home. Each day one nurse will make home visits within approximately a 35-mile radius. Some days they can make more than nine visits in different locations.
The families can feel incredibly vulnerable, and the team not only carry out nursing checks on the babies but are there to support parents too. “That’s a huge part of the job,” says Anna Smith, Deputy Sister. “You never know what you’re walking into. Some families are really struggling, and we do a lot of signposting onto other support services like health visitors, mental health support and the baby bank who can provide items for families in need.”
Anna adds: “The team is very good at getting together to support each other on the unit if there’s been a particularly difficult case. We’ve also got three other members of staff on the unit who are training up to cover outreach work so we can cover annual leave, and having their support is invaluable.”
The visits are crucial to identify fragile babies who could be deteriorating at home and require further hospital treatment. Joint working is paramount, with the nurses in regular touch with other outreach teams just outside the patch, colleagues such as the neonatal dietician, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist and cardiac specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
For the babies who progress but still need nursing support, the team hands over the care at 44 weeks to the Children’s Community Nursing team at NCH&C.
It’s a challenging but rewarding role. From helping organise complex discharges to seeing families settle into their new normal. Charlotte says: “I love the challenges of my role and working with a fantastic team on NICU. It’s so rewarding to see parents grow in confidence in caring for their baby independently. To support them in being a family all together at home is a privilege. Many parents wait a long time for that moment.”
The team are featured in the latest edition of the NNUH Pulse magazine. Read the magazine online NNUH Pulse – Spring 2025 by NNUHinformation – Issuu