Neonatal journey to promote parent involvement

In March, the neonatal unit at City Hospital launched the neonatal journey – a standardised document by the West Midlands Perinatal Network to promote parental involvement in their baby’s care.

WOMEN'S AND CHILD HEALTH

Sonia Dhesi, Senior Neonatal Sister, said:

“The neonatal journey is a six-month pilot project across all the units within the West Midlands perinatal network.

“It’ll be used to promote parents’ involvement in their baby's care on the neonatal unit and to empower them as confident caregivers to their baby.

“The document was designed by previous parents and helps to obtain the information and skills parents require to care for their baby on the unit and after discharge too.

“There are many aims of the neonatal journey – to improve communication between parents, carers and staff, to support staff to understand the needs of the family, to improve delivery of personalised and culturally-sensitive care, to provide a record of parent learning to ensure continuity in their role when transferred between different neonatal units, and finally to act as a keepsake for families post discharge.

“Based on parental and staff feedback after six months this document will then be reviewed, and a final version will be implemented.

“We are a few months into the launch and have found it is going really well so far and we are hopeful that it will improve our family integrated care going forward.”