Bliss is pushing for urgent improvements to be made to special care baby services 
(18/02/2010)
Each year around 70,000 babies are born in need of specialist neonatal care in England. The birth rate is increasing, and more babies are born prematurely and surviving than ever before. This puts additional strain and pressure on already overstretched services. Recommended staffing levels are still not met and babies are often transferred very long distances to find a hospital that can accommodate them, with families being put under greater stress at an already traumatic time.
For over 30 years, Bliss the special care baby charity, has been repeatedly calling for better services that care for the UK’s sick and premature babies. In a recent report which documents the charity’s 30 years of support for vulnerable babies, Bliss is again pushing for urgent improvements to be made to special care baby services, a need that was highlighted as far back as 1979.
Bliss’ report shows that we are not alone in calling for these much needed improvements. Over 30 years there have been a total of 15 reports issued by other charities, professional organisations and official government bodies that have highlighted the poor state of care services for our most vulnerable babies. Yet no report recommending better services for sick and premature babies has ever been fully implemented.
The aim of the charity was, and still is, to give every baby an equal start in life and to ensure that vital equipment and specialist care are available to every baby who needs it. Bliss has been instrumental in the development of special care baby services in the UK, but many of the underlying issues, such as a lack of specialist nurses and doctors and unnecessary transfers occurring, have yet to be resolved.
The NHS Neonatal Taskforce group set up in 2008 to review neonatal care services in England is the best opportunity in a generation to deliver much needed improvements. The Taskforce’s key principles, including that a minimum standard of one to one nursing care is provided to babies in intensive care and that the family is supported throughout their baby’s care, must be put into action without further delay.
Andy Cole, Chief Executive of Bliss said "After 30 years of fighting, this year should mark a significant change in the fortunes of premature and sick babies and the care they receive. Special care baby units have been stretched to the limits for far too long. We call on the Government and the NHS to ensure that the NHS Taskforce’s recommendations are now delivered without delay."
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