For the first time in five years, we have heard from neonatal units, transport services and parents across the country, to assess the state of neonatal care in England in 2015. What we have found is a service that is hanging in the balance and struggling to cope with increasing demand, and too few resources.
Our findings show:
- 2,140 more nurses are needed to care for babies in England. Three quarters of this shortage is because there is not enough funding from the Government.
- Two-thirds of units do not have enough specialist nurses
- More than 850 babies were transferred between hospitals last year because there was not enough space or staff at the unit they were currently in. Over 100 of these babies were ventilated
- 70 per cent of intensive care units are consistently caring for more babies than is considered safe
- Nearly a third of units can offer no psychological support to families.
Read findings in full in the Bliss Baby Report 2015