Trust welcomes opening of baby unit

The new nursery, which has the capacity to care for up to six additional intensive care babies, is equipped with cots each costing 1.5m which can monitor a baby's vital signs and also support breathing and feeding.

Alan Gibson, clinical director for neonatal services at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "This increase in intensive care cots should enable more babies to be given the level of care they require, at the time that they most need it, and where the care will be provided by staff that are used to dealing with extremely sick babies and the very complex equipment they need on a daily basis.

"It is also important that parents feel as relaxed as possible, and we do all we can to support them at such a distressing time. Providing attractive surroundings is just one way of trying to achieve this.

"Parents are actively welcomed to spend as much time as they can with their sick baby and to do as much of the normal care as possible."

The Jessop Hospital's neonatal unit, which provides intensive care for about 250 babies each year, is the regional centre for the sickest newborn babies born within the North Trent neonatal network – an area which covers South Yorkshire, North Derbyshire and north east Lincolnshire.

Equipment in the nursery is designed to support babies unable to breathe for themselves.

Each cot space is equipped with a dedicated ventilator, a neonatal resuscitation system, a feeding system, intravenous pumps, special treatment lights, an incubator and monitors enabling babies' vital signs to be closely monitored at all times.

Caroline Nicholson, matron of the neonatal unit, said: "The new development has resulted in a significant increase in intensive care capacity, combined with a pleasant working environment for staff."

One mother who has used the unit is 34-year-old Joanne Keyworth, from Parson Cross in Sheffield, who gave birth to her son Harvey 13 weeks early last October.

Then, he weighed only 2.4 pounds but, after more than 16 weeks at the Jessop Maternity Hospital, he was to breathe on his own,grew to a healthy weight and was able to go home.

Ms Keyworth said: "The care Harvey received was excellent and he is doing really well now. The staff on the unit are absolutely fantastic."