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14/04/2016
The research, which has been commissioned by charity Bliss, discovered that in a one-week snapshot, half of the transport services reported gaps in their rota due to staff shortages.
There are currently 13 regional neonatal transport services in England, two in Wales, one in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland. Between them, they carry out 16,000 transfers of premature and sick babies each year.
However, despite "significant progress" being made to develop the services over the past 15 years, the charity has said there is "still a long way to go".
The Transfers of premature and sick babies report, which can be viewed here, also found that there are almost 1,000 transfers of babies every year because of lack of capacity in neonatal units. In addition, one in four neonatal transport services in the UK do not have a dedicated neonatal transfer team at night. As a result, this leaves vulnerable babies relying on neighbouring services or busy hospital staff.
Meanwhile, eight out of nine neonatal transport services in England were unable to meet the NHS standard for time-critical transfers, which states that in 95% of cases they should set off within one hour of receiving a call.
There is also no air transport in England for the smallest and sickest babies who need a heated incubator.
Following the findings, Bliss recommended that governments and the NHS need to ensure that all neonatal transport services have the funding they need to provide a 24-hour service with dedicated road vehicles, sufficient for the population they serve.
NHS bodies should also be responsible for education and training, together with the relevant Royal Colleges, should put long term plans in place to address national skills shortages; and that neonatal services should ensure that all parents are as involved as possible if their baby needs to be transferred.
Caroline Davey, Chief Executive of Bliss, said: "Neonatal transport services are integral to delivering the best care for babies, but this research shows that they are often under-staffed, under-resourced and part-time.
"This means that some of the sickest babies are having to wait much longer than they should to reach the right level of neonatal unit for life-saving care. Investment is urgently needed to address staff shortages across all neonatal services, including specialist transport, so that every baby has the best chance of survival and quality of life.
"Parents of premature and sick babies tell us how much they appreciate the committed, hard-working staff who do their best to provide high quality care, however even parents recognise that these professionals are being pushed to their limits."
(JP/LM)
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UK Neonatal Transport Services Are 'Under-Resourced'
A new study has found that half of the UK's specialist neonatal transport services are under-resourced.The research, which has been commissioned by charity Bliss, discovered that in a one-week snapshot, half of the transport services reported gaps in their rota due to staff shortages.
There are currently 13 regional neonatal transport services in England, two in Wales, one in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland. Between them, they carry out 16,000 transfers of premature and sick babies each year.
However, despite "significant progress" being made to develop the services over the past 15 years, the charity has said there is "still a long way to go".
The Transfers of premature and sick babies report, which can be viewed here, also found that there are almost 1,000 transfers of babies every year because of lack of capacity in neonatal units. In addition, one in four neonatal transport services in the UK do not have a dedicated neonatal transfer team at night. As a result, this leaves vulnerable babies relying on neighbouring services or busy hospital staff.
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Meanwhile, eight out of nine neonatal transport services in England were unable to meet the NHS standard for time-critical transfers, which states that in 95% of cases they should set off within one hour of receiving a call.
There is also no air transport in England for the smallest and sickest babies who need a heated incubator.
Following the findings, Bliss recommended that governments and the NHS need to ensure that all neonatal transport services have the funding they need to provide a 24-hour service with dedicated road vehicles, sufficient for the population they serve.
NHS bodies should also be responsible for education and training, together with the relevant Royal Colleges, should put long term plans in place to address national skills shortages; and that neonatal services should ensure that all parents are as involved as possible if their baby needs to be transferred.
Caroline Davey, Chief Executive of Bliss, said: "Neonatal transport services are integral to delivering the best care for babies, but this research shows that they are often under-staffed, under-resourced and part-time.
"This means that some of the sickest babies are having to wait much longer than they should to reach the right level of neonatal unit for life-saving care. Investment is urgently needed to address staff shortages across all neonatal services, including specialist transport, so that every baby has the best chance of survival and quality of life.
"Parents of premature and sick babies tell us how much they appreciate the committed, hard-working staff who do their best to provide high quality care, however even parents recognise that these professionals are being pushed to their limits."
(JP/LM)
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