Our neonatal unit is a tertiary level 3 referral unit. We are 1 of 3 hub neonatal intensive care units (NICU) for the South London Network.
Our unit is made up of 20 intensive care cots, 12 high dependency cots and 20 special care cots. We treat around 1,000 patients per year, caring for babies with surgical, cardiac, neurological, renal and metabolic disorders as well as those born prematurely.
We are aware many neonatal nurses will not have had the opportunity to care for babies requiring the specialist surgical and cardiac interventions offered at Evelina London. To support this learning and development, all our nurses are offered a place on our in-house surgical and cardiac study days run several times a year. Our nursing team are fully supported by the neonatal clinical educator based within the unit.
Career progression is actively encouraged. To this end, we support band 5 nurses to complete neonatal modules and hone their clinical skills in preparation for the band 6 role. A band 6 development programme is in place for experienced band 6s, preparing them to take on the challenge of being in charge of the unit and ultimately working towards a band 7 post.
We are proud of our leadership in research, cultivating opportunities for innovation, while also making sure our care has an evidence based foundation. We are exceptionally proud of our Baby Friendly Initiative Award (Level 3) which is testament to the skill, dedication and commitment of all our nurses, in supporting mothers to breastfeed.
Whilst working on our unit is undeniably demanding, it is also extremely rewarding. We pride ourselves in being a very friendly unit where everyone feels supported and valued and everyone gives their best every day.