Middlemore's special baby unit delivers for families

Helen McConachy at the neonatal unit. Picture / Paul Estcourt

The latest unit for the care of the country's sickest and smallest babies opens in South Auckland next month.

Middlemore Hospital's new neonatal unit, set to start taking babies in next week, will be the second-largest in the country behind National Women's in Auckland.

But predictions are that it will be the busiest, with Counties Manukau expected to overtake Auckland this year as the district health board area with the highest birth rate in the country.

The new unit will have up to 14 intensive and special care cots for the most fragile babies, out of a total 36 cots.

It will treat about 600 premature and critically ill newborns a year.

At the moment the unit can handle 20 to 23 babies at a time and "that's absolutely bursting", said the unit's nurse manager, Helen McConachy.

The new unit features a waiting area with play facilities, breast-feeding rooms, and accommodation for parents needing to stay in the ward. There will also be a separate area for bereavement.

"The biggest impact it'll have is on the families," said Mrs McConachy.

The new unit would allow for intensive-care babies to be remotely monitored for indicators such as heart rate.

"Parents who have a baby who is very sick will naturally want to spend as much time as possible at the cot-side.

"It will allow the parents to have more one-to-one time with their baby, without a nurse having to watch over their shoulder."

Specialised isolation rooms will help the management of infectious conditions.

Despite a national shortage of nurses, the new unit was fully staffed, said Mrs McConachy.

The unit has been paid for by existing debt facilities at the Counties Manukau District Health Board, the Ministry of Health, and through donations. More than $3.8 million was raised by the South Auckland Health Foundation over 3 years.

Foundation executive director Pam Tregonning said the facilities would make a significant difference to premature babies and their parents' ability to support them.

"The big change is that they're going to be able to involve parents, and family, in a much more active way."