Organised by Surrey and Sussex Healthcare CharityEvery year nearly 500 babies need special care from East Surrey Hospital at the very start of their lives. We are transforming an overnight room for parents of premature babies to stay alongside their baby before they are well enough to go home.
Many are very small, fitting in the palm of your hand. Some need to stay in hospital for months before they are well enough to go home. Help us raise funds to transform the facilities for these babies and their families. Your donations will help to transform an overnight room, creating a space that will feel like a home from home, rather than a hospital intensive care room.
Over 4,500 local families have babies each year at East Surrey Hospital, or under the care of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (SASH). Approximately one in ten of these arrives prematurely or requires intensive care. These babies and their families are cared for in the neonatal intensive care/special care unit at East Surrey Hospital. Babies as young as 27 weeks and their families are often in the unit for weeks, or sometimes months, until the baby is well enough to go home.
Olive, who is now six, inspired this appeal and lived in the hospital for much of the first 110 days of her life, with her mum Keata. Alongside a major investment by the NHS, we need your support to help transform care for these premature or very unwell babies, and for their mums and dads.
For full details on how your donations will help visit our appeal website www.olivesappeal.org
Since the appeal launched in September 2019, your support for Olives Appeal has already had an impact. You have helped fund rainforest theming throughout the new unit, helping create a calming environment.
The creation of a brand new family room where parents of unwell or premature babies can step away from the clinical environment, into a cosy, comforting, grown-up room, whilst remaining close by.
Here is a before and after picture of the family room transformation!
You have helped us provide ALL five of our state of the art incubators!
During 2021, your donations meant that we provided the final two state of the art the art BabyLeo incubuators for the new unit (a total of five). This state of the art equipment has benefited our youngest patients by:
- Enhancing comfort for our babies, making their recovery more comfortable.
- Creating exceptional temperature control for the neonatal team to monitor, as well as lighting.
- Assisting with family bonds through the use of sound. aiding the babies recovery, by being able to record the mother or father's heartbeat to sooth the baby.
- Allowing parents to get closer to their baby through the use of large hand ports and an adjustable incubator hood. This access doesn't compromise the temperature and creates meaningful family moments.
-Monitoring our youngest patients is even more seamless; an accessible x-ray tray with integrated scales means babies do not need to be lifted out as frequently, mak9ing patient monitoring harmonious with the needs of the baby.
Read more about how all of these improvements are already helping babies, parents, and hospital staff at www.olivesappeal.org
By donating or fundraising for Olives Appeal right now, you will help us transform:
An overnight room for parents to stay in the unit, next to their baby. Creating a home from home, whilst providing first-class hospital care.
Enhanced facilities for mums including comfortable reclining chairs for breastfeeding.
We can only do this with your by our side.
Donate now or set up your fundraising on this page, or contact us (sash.charity@nhs.net) if we can help with anything.
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