In 2005 Plymouth NICU became the regional centre of neonatal care, serving the population across Devon and Cornwall. However the professional responsibility of caring for extremely premature and sick neonates extends beyond the patient with each bringing with them their own family unit.

We know through evidence based research, observations and years of experience the physical, psychological and financial demands that having a baby on a NICU can have on parents and families, and these are exacerbated further when parents are unable to stay near their baby. We at Plymouth have worked proactively with our Trusts support, our Keep Me Close Appeal and other agencies to secure a holistic approach to minimise some of these burdens.

The NICU Trust Fund was created to improve the experiences of our families and babies through the purchasing of specialised equipment, environmental decoration and furnishings as well as staff education. To date the funds raised have supported the following:

Purchase of specialised breast pumps

Twin cots

Cold Cot to support our bereaved families.

Bedroom upgrades for our resident parents.

Daily use of the Hospedia Television, for our familys resident on the unit.

Staff education including conferences and FINE course.

IPads to support vCreate secure video messaging service.

9 Amazon Fires, to support parents reading to their babies.

End of Life Care furnishings

On behalf of all NICU families, their babies and the NICU team a sincere heartfelt thanks for your donation. Without your hard work and generosity we would not be able to develop and improve the neonatal journey.