What is the Bliss Baby Charter?
The Bliss Baby Charter is a process that helps examine the procedures, practices and environment of a neonatal unit.
The Baby Charter encourages healthcare professionals to empower parents to be primary caregivers through joint decision-making and hands on care, as well as understanding families’ needs and availability in order to provide truly individualised care. This facilitates a solid foundation for Family Integrated Care.
Achieving Bliss Baby Charter accreditation is an esteemed marker of quality.
What does the accreditation process look like?
Each neonatal unit submits audits until the Baby Charter team feel they are ready to progress to the Gold Accreditation.
The unit will undertake an assessment day where all evidence will be considered alongside information from unit health care professionals and unit parents.
This is where our volunteer assessors support us. Each assessment day will have one volunteer healthcare professional and one volunteer parent to assist the Baby Charter team and provide independent views to make our assessment process thorough.
These assessments take place, where possible, in person to allow the assessment team to see and get a feel of the unit. In exceptional circumstances they may be carried out virtually.
How can I volunteer?
We have two roles available:
- Baby Charter healthcare professional assessor
- Baby Charter parent assessor
As a volunteer, you will be an integral part of the assessment team. The role includes reviewing evidence the unit provides and partaking in interviews of parents and healthcare professionals from the unit.
Who can volunteer?
For the healthcare professional assessor role, the Baby Charter team welcomes volunteers from current neonatal healthcare professionals across the United Kingdom.
For the parent assessor role, we welcome parents/carers who have had a baby who required neonatal care.
Please note that in order to apply for the parent assessor role you must be 18 and over and your baby must have been discharged over 12 months ago – we want to ensure some time has passed from your neonatal stay and you feel ready to interview parents who might be struggling with their neonatal journey.
How much time do I need to commit?
There is no set amount of time required for these volunteer roles, as the team will contact assessors as an when units are approaching the assessment stage. We would always contact assessors 4-6 weeks in advance to check availability.
What will I need to do?
Your role will be to support the Baby Charter team with assessments of neonatal units across the UK, by interviewing parents and/or healthcare professionals on neonatal units or virtually, in order to assess procedures, practices and facilities.
When you provide availability to support with an assessment, you will be required to be available for:
- A short pre-assessment phone call
- Review a small amount of evidence ahead of time, such as welcome booklets and virtual unit tours
- One full day of volunteering in person at the neonatal unit (or undisturbed at home if virtual)
- Fill in a short post visit report following the visit to the unit.
- Review the formal report before publication.
- Bliss will reimburse travel expenses and lunch.
What support will I receive?
Following successful application, including a reference check and a chat with the Baby Charter team, Bliss will provide a training package, which will include a short online information session, and an online training module(s).
How do I apply?
Complete our application form and one of the team will be in touch with you.
The closing date for applications is 19 March 2025. For more information, read the full role descriptions below.
