We are delighted to announce that the Whittington Hospital neonatal unit has successfully completed its Bliss Baby Charter Gold Award assessment, making it the first neonatal unit in London to receive Gold accreditation.
The award, celebrated in an accreditation ceremony this month, recognises that they have achieved excellence in the practice, processes and environment which provide the foundations of Family Integrated Care.
The assessment was carried out on 23rd May 2024 by Bliss Baby Charter Programme Lead, Giulia Bonacalza, Bliss Baby Charter Officer, Rachel Quartermaine and Volunteer Assessors, Nicole Broadbent and Emily Gorrod-Smith. The Baby Charter Lead for the Unit was Laura Perez-Adamson.
It found that staff at the Whittington Hospital neonatal unit are dedicated to providing the best possible service in line with the principles outlined in the Bliss Baby Charter.
Unit staff are clearly passionate and very receptive and open to change and suggestions.
Recommendations from Bliss Baby Charter team were implemented across all areas of care. These included finding solutions to allow parents to be present during nursing team handovers, despite the many challenges that the physical space of the unit creates.
Parents were actively encouraged and supported to be part of their baby’s care, which is individualised to meet the specific needs of each family.
All parents interviewed said they felt supported by the unit, particularly by the nursing team.
They reported that their concerns were always listened to, their anxieties and worries respected, and questions always received warmly and answered helpfully.
Procedures were explained clearly to parents, and they described the unit as having a family and community feeling.
The Whittington Hospital neonatal unit was successfully pre-assessed in 2022 and now their Bliss Baby Charter Gold Award is valid for three years.
Laura Perez-Adamson, Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist said: “It’s been a long but positive journey which started in 2013 and has involved the whole team and a great deal of perseverance.
“Despite our environmental challenges we made adjustments to support family integrated care. We have transitioned from nurse led to parent led care.
“Some years back nurses were teaching each other how to transfer babies from incubator to kangaroo care safely, now the nurses are supporting parents to confidently do it themselves. We are empowering parents, listening and involving them in the decision making process.”
Whittington Neonatal Consultant Sunita Rao praised colleagues explaining that that the unit’s formal commitment to family-centred care was started by Irene Devitt in 2013 and taken up by current developmental care leads Laura Perez Adamson and Stella Turay.
She added: “They have gone above and beyond to improve and maintain our standards with unswerving enthusiasm. We are extremely fortunate to have such an amazing and innovative team of allied health professionals who are of immeasurable value to our patients and families and have supported this achievement.
“The Bliss Gold award has been such a boost for the neonatal staff, all of whom work tirelessly and thoroughly deserve this recognition. We are proud and delighted to have received this award and look forward to making future improvements in caring for babies and families.”
A parent whose premature baby spent six weeks on the Whittington’s neonatal and special care baby units in January thanked its staff, saying: “We are in awe of what you all do and cannot stress enough how much we appreciate everything you did for our little family”.
Find out more about Bliss Baby Charter here.
