Welcome to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at John Hunter Children's Hospital the NICU has a number of amenities for
parents and families to help make your stay more comfortable The Unit also has its own Ronald McDonald
Family Room where you can take a break have something to eat or drink or just
relax The first clinical area of the NICU
you'll enter is Special Care. Babies in Special Care are usually greater than 32
weeks gestation and have not yet developed all the skills they need to go
home or may have conditions that require additional treatment such as jaundice
low oxygen levels or they may need antibiotics Hand washing and gelling is very
important to reduce the risk of infection for your baby, we ask all
parents to wash their hands every time they enter treatment areas you will also
need to roll up your sleeves and be bare below the elbows along with removing any
bracelets and watches in special care each baby has their own
treatment space, there are up to 8 babies in each special care room.
A
Neonatologist will see your baby every day on their rounds, however your baby
will always have nursing care in their room caring for them The unit also has a breastfeeding
expressing room, milk storage room and bathing room, where nursing staff will
teach you how to bath your baby while in NICU and for when you leave Some babies
require a higher level of support in intensive care
special care and intensive care have nursing stations the nurse team leader
will always wear a red shirt and can be approached at any time with any
questions or concerns you may have babies in intensive care have been born
prematurely may be sick newborns or require surgery babies in intensive care
may require respiratory support or additional life supporting equipment.
Intensive care has the same hand-washing and infection prevention requirements a
special care an intensive care room however will only have a maximum of four
babies in the room with a higher level of nursing support.
Neonatologists
working in intensive care will see your baby at least twice a day. The unit is
covered by both medical and nursing teams 24 hours a day. Thank you for touring the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at John Hunter
Children's Hospital.
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