Scottish Government
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Neonatal units
Mothers and babies could be less likely to face long-distance separations or transfers in future.
A group of experts advising the Scottish Government has concluded an in-depth study and recommended a number of improvements to the way neonatal services are organised - which have been accepted by the Government in full.
Work starts immediately to ensure more flexible care and co-operation between units for the benefit of parents and babies, including possible transport improvements - which should ultimately mean even fewer babies being transferred away from their mothers.
Public Health Minister Shona Robison said:
"The care of our most vulnerable babies is already of the highest quality, and we're pleased to accept all of the recommendations of the expert sub-group in full so that we can make it even better.
"Our newborn children and their parents deserve nothing less.
"Planning and organisation are important. Neighbouring hospitals working together makes better sense for babies, parents and staff, while looking at changes to our transfers and admissions should mean real benefits for mums and babies.
"As the report recommends, we will seek immediate assurances from boards that they have adequate staffing not only for patient care but for staff training, and to respond to peaks in demand with minimal transfers. A workload planning tool will be introduced this year to identify neonatal nurse staffing needs."
In addition to the introduction of regional planning, a number of other recommendations made in the report of the Neonatal Services Sub Group of the Maternity Services Action Group have already begun to be addressed by the government, for example
- The commissioning of a review on the value of a centralised national "bed bureau" whenever a pregnant woman or new baby needs to be transferred
- The ordering of a feasibility study into an in-utero transport service
- Seeking the advice of our national Neonatal Transport Service on the feasibility of providing a neonatal repatriation service
