Our gorgeous baby Isabelle didn't have the easiest of arrivals into this world. We lost count of how many times our beautiful girl was nearly snatched away from us. She fought so so hard to stay with us with the help of the amazing NICU unit team. We want to give back as much as we can and help support all of the other parents that are in the same situation.

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.