The Bliss Baby Charter Accreditation awards neonatal units that deliver high-quality care to babies and support for their families. It was developed by Bliss to help hospitals caring for premature and sick babies to assess the care they provide and identify areas for improvement.
Throughout the accreditation process, Bliss recognises and rewards excellence in the care delivered by neonatal units all the while supporting units to improve their practice.
The Bliss Baby Charter re-accreditation assessment was carried out virtually with the Frimley Park neonatal unit on 19 January 2022, by Bliss Baby Charter Programme Lead Holly Sullivan, and Volunteer Assessors Emily Gorrod-Smith and Fauzia Paize.
The Baby Charter lead for the unit was Hayley Cooles. She said, “receiving our platinum award for the Bliss baby charter is an incredible achievement for the whole team and recognises everyone's hard work. Our aim is to deliver a high standard of care, tailoring it to meet the individualised needs of each baby and their family on the unit and this award recognises that.”
The culture of the Frimley Park neonatal unit is clearly family-centred, with families being consistently empowered to be actively involved in their baby’s care. Communication between staff members and families is excellent, and this was shown by the overwhelmingly positive feedback gathered from parents on the day.
Lou and Becca Scrase-Wiles, who’s twin boys received care in Frimley Park’s NICU said, “our twin boys were born at 30 weeks by an emergency C-section at Frimley Park Hospital, which was unexpected and not what we had hoped for. The support and care that both our boys and we have received has been sensational throughout.”
“We have learned how to care for our babies with the support of all the nurses within the NICU. We have been constantly reassured in what can be a daunting and scary time. Leaving the hospital without them each day feels completely unnatural but knowing that they are being cared and looked after by these amazing nurses gives us the greatest confidence and we will be forever grateful! A big thank you from all of us!”
Staff adapt their support and individualise their care to each individual family’s needs and requirements, and this had a strong and positive impact on the families interviewed on the day. It is also evident that Frimley Park have a clear vision for how to continually improve and develop.
For more information on the Bliss Baby Charter please go to: bliss.org.uk/health-professionals/bliss-baby-charter
