The Oliver Fisher neonatal intensive care ward says it has improved patient outcomes for families and premature newborns in Medway and Swale.
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00:00For nearly 25 years, the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Ward and Medway Maritime Hospital
00:06has held babies in need after Medway's first intensive ward was decommissioned in 1999.
00:13Many babies on this ward are born prematurely. That means they can be less than a pound in size,
00:18some born just 23 weeks into gestation, half the term of a usual pregnancy,
00:25and those babies will end up in an incubator like this one where they'll be nourished and
00:30looked after until they're ready to be taken home by their parents.
00:34Alice was the first baby to be treated on the ward. Alongside the Oliver Fisher Trust,
00:40Alice and her father Jeff are now trying to ensure the ward has the best equipment it can,
00:45so complications from being born prematurely can be detected as early as possible.
00:50No one ever knows that they're going to need this service until they're in that situation,
00:55and seeing all the technological advances that have come on over the last 25 years,
01:00it's just astonishing really, isn't it? And that's why donations and people interacting
01:05with the charity really are vital for us to keep doing what we're doing.
01:09Every time we have a board meeting, we discuss new technology, new equipment that comes fresh
01:17to the market, where we can play an active part in purchasing for the Trust and for the unit,
01:24and I think that's really, really important that sets this unit, the Oliver Fisher Special Care
01:30Baby Unit, apart from maybe other charities for other special care baby units who aren't in the
01:36position to be able to do that. And we've always said that I suppose the mantra that we've always
01:40had is to make sure that we can provide the best care that we possibly can.
01:47One in seven births require a neonatal intensive care unit, with the Oliver Fisher Ward seeing
01:521,200 babies passing through its door every year. Those who work here say it has been crucial for
01:59improving patient outcomes. Managing these babies and families closer to home is one of the ethos
02:06that in neonatal intensive care, so we should be keeping our babies and mums and the families
02:12closer to home. So if there wasn't any unit in Medway or in West Kent, the babies and family
02:19would be transferred far away from their home. There would be more disruption for the families
02:25as well, the fathers and remaining family members. So it is extremely important that
02:31this unit is present where it is to look after babies and families within
02:36Medway and in the West Kent area. With celebrations set for its anniversary in July,
02:41both the Trust and doctors on the ward hope new equipment will continue to improve the lives
02:47of Kent's smallest patients. Oliver Leeds for KMTV in Medway.