Tiny babies find beds close to home

By REBECCA WALSH, health reporter

Northcote couple Jennifer and Kevin Bone's 3-week-old premature twin girls have already done a circuit of Auckland's main hospitals.

The babies were born 10 weeks early at Middlemore Hospital because National Women's special baby care unit was full.

Five days later they were transferred to National Women's.

But yesterday, Lucy and Emma were among the five babies transferred to the new special care baby unit at North Shore Hospital - their last stop before going home.

For the twins' parents, the opening of the unit is a big relief.

"It makes a huge difference. It's pretty stressful having premature babies to start with," Mrs Bone said.

"When you wake up in the morning the first thing you think about is your babies, but we couldn't go straight there and see them because of the traffic.

"To get here takes about five minutes max."

It also means Mr Bone, a self-employed builder, can drop in and help feed the girls during his lunch break.

The unit, which opened yesterday, is part of a $7.4 million redevelopment of maternity services at North Shore Hospital and an overall regional planning and development programme aimed at moving services closer to the people who need them.

Until yesterday premature babies born to women from the North Shore had to go to National Women's or, in some cases, Middlemore, where there are more facilities.

Donna Neal, clinical nurse leader of the North Shore unit, said that last year about 500 women and babies were transferred from the Shore to National Women's.

The new eight-bed unit - to extend to 12 beds by February - would be able to accommodate the majority of those babies. By the end of next year a similar unit would open at Waitakere Hospital.

Mrs Neal said the unit was level two, which meant it could care for premature and sick babies of 32 weeks gestation or older and more than 1500g.

Babies requiring more intensive care would still be transferred to National Women's but moved back when they were well enough.

The unit will offer 24-hour, seven-days-a-week medical cover from a team of six consultant paediatricians from Starship children's hospital. An experienced neonatal nurse will be on duty at all times.

Mrs Neal said most of the nursing team had worked at either National Women's or Starship.

Overnight accommodation is available for parents and a family room has been fitted out with furniture, kitchen utensils, a television and play equipment.

The unit's linen cupboard is packed with tiny booties and blankets knitted by community groups.

Thousands of dollars worth of equipment, such as breast pumps, incubator covers and change tables, have also been donated.