The Island's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) cares for all babies that are born too early (premature) and babies that are unwell after they are born. NICU has been so successful in keeping abreast with developments in neonatal care that it has now outgrown its existing accommodation.

Its mission statement is:

"The Neonatal Unit will provide individual family centred care, incorporating the principles of holistic nursing.
This care will be provided by the neonatal nursing team, whose practice is research based and continually updated, providing students with a positive learning environment.
The unit will provide a warm, pleasant, safe environment for babies and their families until eventual discharge."

The unit was created and developed with our knowledge of neonatal care requirements on the island during the 1970's. No one realised at that time

• How important it was for babies to be near to their parents
• How quickly our understanding of the special needs of premature or newborn babies would develop
• How this new knowledge would then impact on the layout and location of the accommodation that we provide
• How much specialist equipment would be available to ensure that each baby receives the best possible care
• How early a baby can be born and, with a prolonged stay in NICU and the tender loving care that it provides, still survive to join its family and reach its full potential

The new unit will provide

• Patient privacy to enable feeding to be established
• Room for mothers and babies to be together
• Space to enable parents, doctors and nurses to work alongside each other to provide specialist and family centred care to every baby that needs it
• Overnight accommodation facilities for parents who want to spend time on the unit near to their baby
• Play facilities for siblings in order to entertain brothers and sisters whilst parents take care of the new baby
• Quiet/Counselling Room to support families who need a quiet space in which to come to terms with their baby's illness
• Increased cot capacity from 9 to 11 cots to accommodate the babies that need specialist care
• Modern, bright, surroundings creating that all-important home from home atmosphere that promotes bonding, recovery and wellbeing.

With your help we will be able to raise more money so that we can continue to invest in future island babies and parents by providing the highest quality island based neonatal facilities that they deserve.