Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust - Neonatal Surgical Unit (NSU)

Neonatal Surgical Unit (NSU)

Overview

The Neonatal Surgery Unit (NSU) at the Sheffield Children’s Hospital is the tertiary neonatal surgical unit for the North Trent Neonatal network.

Our catchment area includes Barnsley, Worksop, Chesterfield, Doncaster, Grimsby, Rotherham and Scunthorpe as well as Sheffield. However, we frequently admit babies from north and west Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Lancashire.

We care for babies from birth to three months of age. Our average weight criteria is 1.5 to 4.5 kg, with a minimum gestational age of 32 weeks. We nurse a wide variety of neonatal surgical conditions including neurosurgery, renal, ear nose & throat (ENT) and orthopaedics. We also take neonatal medical patients outside the remit of our local NICU.

Unit philosophy

Using modern nursing practices based on relevant contemporary research, we aim to plan and deliver care to meet each baby’s individual needs. Our intention is to encourage your baby to develop to his/her full potential, both physically and emotionally. We encourage parental participation in most aspects of care. Siblings and extended family members are welcome to visit. The family’s cultural beliefs are respected at all times. It is hoped that, as parents, you feel that you can speak freely and be confident that we will be honest and frank about your baby’s condition and treatment.

Layout

The unit has ten bed spaces, of which nine are currently open. It has an eight bedded area, split into two four bedded bays and a two bedded cubicle (which can be used for isolation purposes). The unit has two ICU beds, three HDU beds and four special care beds.

Seven of the bed spaces are fully monitored and all beds are equipped with IV pumps and syringe drivers. Babies are nursed in open heated cots, six of which have additional overhead heating and phototherapy capacity. In the event of babies requiring assisted mechanical ventilation, they are nursed by neonatal surgical nurses in a cubicle on PICU under combined care of both paediatric surgeons and intensivists.

There is a room on the unit solely for the use of breastfeeding mothers, with facilities and equipment for expressing breast milk. Adjacent to the unit are resident parents’ facilities for short term usage and there are self catering facilities within the hospital for parents of babies requiring long term admission.

The NSU team

The NSU is part of the surgical directorate. The General Manager for Surgery is Angela Karck and the Modern Matron is Helen Bailey.

We have six paediatric surgical consultants with support from specialist surgical registrars. We have input from other specialities as required. The unit has 24 hour access to neonatology services from NICU at the Jessop Wing, Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

All babies are cared for by band 5 or 6 staff nurses under the supervision of a band 7 sister or senior staff nurse. Staffing levels are currently funded at old BAPM standards and over 60% of the staff have an additional neonatal care qualification.

Student nurses are attached to Sheffield Hallam University. All are mentored whilst on the unit and are encouraged to work as part of the team.