Spreading Sunbeams Team shortlisted for RCN Nursing award 

The Supporting Uncertainty for Babies Early in Antenatal Management (Spreading Sunbeams) team at Hywel Dda University Health Board (UHB) has been selected from hundreds of entries as finalist at the RCN Nursing Awards.

The team, whose collaborative work helps families facing potentially life-limiting fetal congenital anomalies that are time sensitive, has been shortlisted in the Child Health category.

Spreading Sunbeams project was developed out of the need for professionals from across the palliative care, fetal medicine, maternity and neonatal network in Wales, to collaborate in a more integrated way. Dr Jo Griffiths, Consultant in Paediatric Palliative Care, and Dr Lucinda Perkins, Consultant Neonatologist, launched this initiative in September 2021, at the Welsh Fetal Medicine Network Event in Cardiff and was supported by Mr Bryan Beattie, Consultant Obstetrician and Fetal Medicine Lead, and his team.

This initiative helped to support the formation of the Spreading Sunbeams team in Hywel Dda UHB, a branch of the All Wales Network. The Hywel Dda UHB team have supported two perinatal palliative care referrals towards the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022.

Lead nurses from the midwifery, neonatal team and palliative care are now instrumental in leading on care delivery and formation of local pathways in Hywel Dda in line with the All Wales Network to provide education and support to local teams in delivering a coordinated and seamless approach to care.

The team supports early palliative care referral and allow timely involvement of local multidisciplinary team (MDT) to provide advanced perinatal care planning where delivery outside the specialist fetal medicine centre and neonatal intensive care centres are appropriate and align with parental wishes.

Dr Perkins who helped establish the Spreading Sunbeams project and recently launched the perinatal forums described the Hywel Dda team as “a shining example of how to provide truly family centred care under challenging and time sensitive circumstances.

“They have embraced new ways of working across specialties and put the family at the very heart of the whole process. The Spreading Sunbeams work across Wales would be futile if we did not have such determined and enthusiastic professionals in local centred absolutely dedicated to supporting high quality perinatal care planning for families close to home.”

The RCN Nursing Awards is a yearly event that invites nurses, nursing students and nursing support workers to share their innovations and expertise and celebrate their contribution to improving care and outcomes for people of all ages and walks of life. This year’s awards ceremony would be held on 6 October at the Westminster Park Plaza hotel.

For more information about the RCN Nursing Awards, please visit https://rcni.com/nurse-awards