Background
In 2015, I worked with Bliss, the baby charity, on a project relating to the present state of neonatal care in the UK. I was involved in all stages, from drafting questions for the surveys through to advising on data analysis and subsequently reviewing drafts of the main report as well as a smaller report that came out in 2016 on transport services.
Reports
Bliss Baby Report 2015 - England
The Bliss Baby Report 2015 for England showed that there was a widespread staffing shortage affecting all levels of neonatal care provision - and covering multiple staffing groups (nursing, medical, allied professionals). Babies were frequently transferred between units because of a shortage of adequately trained staff or insufficient cot availability.
This report was launched at a ceremony at the Houses of Parliament in October 2015 and generated significant publicity:
There were also responses from national healthcare organisations:
Bliss Transport Report 2016
Similarly, neonatal transport services in the UK also suffer from major staffing shortages, with half of units reporting staffing gaps during a one week period. There was huge variance in coverage of services, with a quarter of services not being able to provide for transfers overnight.
