Broomfield Hospital neonatal unit awarded Bliss Baby Charter Gold accreditation

The achievement was celebrated in an accreditation ceremony attended by families, unit professionals and Bliss staff last week (12th November) at the unit in Chelmsford, Essex.

The assessment, which took place in September 2024, was carried out by Bliss Baby Charter Programme Officers, Rachel Quartermaine and Stella Rranxi, found that the unit demonstrated sufficient procedures and practices in place to facilitate a solid foundation for Family Integrated Care (FiCare).

Bliss staff, supported by Volunteer Assessors, Baljit Wilkhu and Louise Bryant, concluded that practices on the unit empowered parents and carers to be partners in care through joint decision-making and hands on care, as well as understanding families’ needs and availability, in order to provide truly individualised care.

Jackie Kane, Broomfield Neonatal Unit Ward Manager and Bliss Charter Lead said:

“We are incredibly proud to achieve Gold Accreditation,. Throughout the accreditation journey, our commitment and passion to provide the best possible care for our patients and families has only grown stronger.

“The Bliss Charter has been instrumental in guiding us, enabling us to continually assess, evaluate and enhance our service. By embedding Family Integrated care at the heart of what we do, we are able to ensure the best possible experience for those in our care.

“Our passion for excellence continues to drive us as we now set our sights on achieving Platinum Accreditation.”

Dr Hassan, Broomfield Neonatal Unit Lead Consultant said:

“It is a great achievement to be the first Local Neonatal Unit in the East of England to achieve Bliss Gold accreditation.

“We have always been a unit that looks after our babies and families very well and we are continually working towards excelling in family centred care.

“We have fully embraced the principles and concept of Bliss Baby Charter and family centred care is now embedded in our work as second nature.

“Jackie Kane has been pivotal in this great achievement and she worked tirelessly with passion and her enthusiasm, supported by great team members who are equally as passionate about family centred care.

“I am very proud to be part of this great team that is committed to placing families at the centre of the care for their babies.”

The Bliss Baby Charter team noted that Broomfield staff were passionate about FiCare and the experience of the families and was led by a strong, well respected and extremely dedicated ward manager who has pushed the Unit hard to ensure great team cohesion and family integration.

They observed that feedback from parents on the day was extremely positive, particularly involving the support they received from staff and that the whole team felt like a family that parents and carers were very much part of.

Tamzin, whose baby was treated on the unit after being born at 28+2 weeks said she was grateful for the incredible care she had received at Broomfield.

She explained: “Everybody has been so reassuring and informative, that a really scary and emotional time has been made so much easier.

“It is obvious that the team genuinely care about Millie and all of the babies that come into the unit, it feels like Millie has another extended family here.” 

Ryan’s baby Marley received care on the unit after being born at 27 weeks weighing 2lbs. Thanking the staff, he said: “From the moment she was born, the care she has received from the doctors and nurses on the neonatal unit has been amazing. We cannot thank everyone enough for looking after our baby girl and for being so friendly and explaining everything so well.”