After months of fundraising and charity events we finally reached our target of £32,000 for the special baby unit at Northampton General hospital.
We decided back in 2016 we would focus our efforts back into the local hospital but more specifically, the Gosset ward. The Doctors and Nurses care for many critically ill babies and give fantastic support to the families whilst there in their care. It was agreed with the ward, and the charitable health fund, (which aims to enhance patient experience beyond what the NHS can fund) that the most beneficial purchase would be the giraffe incubator.
The Giraffe incubator is able to adjust in height, which means that there is space for a wheelchair to fit underneath for mothers to be closer to their baby.
Other features include the high-tech machine is able to weigh the babies while they sleep inside, so they do not become disturbed. The baby’s temperature is also monitored automatically, and they have the ability to give extra humidity and oxygen. This state-of-the-art machine, in turn, reduces the amount of equipment needed in the small rooms on Gosset ward.
Whilst we were fundraising in the community, we met a staggering amount of families whose children, and grandchildren had been in care at the Gosset ward and wanted to donate or help in anyway as they had received such fantastic care.
We were fortunate enough to visit the ward and see the wonderful work the team do. We met Grace the ward Manager and she explained the benefits of the new machine “The doctors can get to the baby when they are first born, they can get in there, put the central lines in the umbilical cord, and if we have to resuscitate the baby, we can be close for that work.
We usually have between 360 and 460 babies per year on the Gosset ward – on average the babies spend about six weeks in the incubator. A lot of the babies spend quite a lot of time with us, so the parents become close with us.”
We want to say a massive thank you to every single person who helped, donated, and supported us to achieve this truly amazing goal. We couldn’t have done it without everyone’s support. It really is a massive achievement, and we are thrilled we can help this fantastic ward and help babies that unfortunately must come into their care.
