A higher level of care for sick babies

Hywel Dda Health Board wants to establish a modern, state of the art Level Two Neonatal Unit to provide specialist care to sick babies for the first time within our own area, giving them the best possible start in life.

The unit, which would be co-located with a Complex Obstetric Unit, would be an improvement on the level of care currently provided, resulting in less babies being transferred out of the health board area. It would also allow those who are in need of intensive care (at a level three neo-natal unit) to return more quickly, bringing families closer together.

This would provide the care necessary for premature and sick babies and for the small number of pregnancies where a risk has been identified, ensuring the best long-term outcomes for babies and their families.

Hywel Dda Health Board’s Clinical Director for Child and Adolescent Health Dr Simon Fountain-Polley said: “The health board wants to establish a level 2 neo-natal unit to provide all aspects of high dependency care within the boundaries of Hywel Dda Health Board in order to care for sick and premature babies much closer to home. Currently, babies requiring this level of care are often sent to Singleton Hospital and sometimes even further a field. The level 2 unit would allow us to care for these babies within our own area, as well as return babies with even higher level needs earlier, thus bringing families back together more quickly.”

The health board’s preferred option is to provide these new services for the population from Glangwili Hospital. There are a number of reasons for this including accessibility for families across our area, proximity to the Level 3 Neonatal Unit in Singleton Hospital should any babies run into difficulties, and the higher number of births that take place at Glanwgili, which would ensure the service is more sustainable.

Currently none of the Special Care Baby Units (SCBUs) within the health board fully comply with Royal College guidelines and the current services also struggle to meet All Wales Neonatal Standards. This means they are unable to provide ongoing specialist care to sick babies.

The health board would encourage everyone to provide their feedback on the consultation by:

• Completing the online questionnaire at: www.hywelddahb.wales.nhs.uk/Consulation

• Completing a hard copy of the questionnaire and returning to Opinion Research Services, Freepost (SS1018), PO Box 530, Swansea, SA1 1ZL

• Writing a letter to the health board at FREEPOST HYWEL DDA HEALTH BOARD

• Emailing the health board at hyweldda.engagement@wales.nhs.uk

• Telephoning: 01437 771232 (leave your comments on the answer machine facility)

• Or by attending one of our events:

Public meetings