Neonatal Unit commended in national survey

A survey of parents' experiences of neonatal care at the Countess of Chester Hospital has revealed a high quality of care for babies being treated in the Neonatal Unit.

The Countess was among 125 hospital neonatal units in England that were involved in the survey.  The survey was developed by Picker Institute Europe and undertaken between 2010-11 by neonatal networks in England as well as being supported by Bliss, the special care charity, and the Department of Health. 

Seventy-three parents of babies admitted to the Neonatal Unit at the Countess responded to the survey and over 4000 parents responded from all neonatal units in England. Overall, the Countess of Chester Hospital's Neonatal Unit scored well: parents' scores put the Chester neonatal unit in the top 20% of local neonatal units in response to 13 of the questions asked. Questions included communication, the attitude of doctors and nurses on the neonatal unit and keeping parents informed and involved with the care of their baby as much as possible.  86% of parents said they always had confidence and trust in the staff caring for their baby, and 81% agreeing that they were involved as much as they wanted to be in the day-to-day care of their baby. 

Comments received from parents include:

"The standards of care we received from the Neonatal Unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital were excellent.  The staff were committed, friendly and well informed at all times."

"I found the staff and facilities to be excellent.  I was allowed to stay in my own room on the Neonatal Unit from the time I was discharged from the Maternity Ward right up until my baby went home.  I could not have asked for more care, support or professionalism. I applaud them all at the Countess."

Eirian Lloyd Powell, Neonatal Unit Manager, commented: "It is with great pride that we have achieved so much and the results achieved highlight the commitment of all staff to ensure that the babies being treated on the unit are provided with an excellent service, with their care always being our number one priority at all times."

Acknowledging that the unit can always aim higher, an action plan has been implemented to address areas for improvement. Improved availability of written information and provision of more opportunities for parents to have skin-to-skin contact are examples of improvement in practice since the survey, as the neonatal unit strives to improve the service the staff provide.

Eirian added: "One of our main challenges is to ensure that our unit continues to develop how it operates, as neonatal care has evolved rapidly over the last few years, utilising the latest in technology and advancement in care. Limited space on the unit is an issue but we try to utilise it to the best of our ability and will continue to do so."