Dyson neonatal centre in Bath marks 15 years of specialist care

A specialist neonatal centre at the Royal United Hospital is celebrating its 15th anniversary after caring for around 10,000 babies and their families.

Joshua, Cath and Cheralyn at the unit | Photo © RUH

The Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care opened in 2011 and provides treatment and support for sick and premature babies at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust.

Among those returning to mark the anniversary on Thursday 23rd July was Joshua Heather, who became the first baby to stay in the new unit when it opened.

Joshua, who weighed just 1.5kg at the time, visited with his mother Cheralyn and met Cath Ould from the Neonatal Outreach team, who remembered caring for him and visiting the family at home.

Joshua said: “It’s great to see where I was cared for and to meet some of the wonderful people that helped me. And, as I’m interested in engineering, hearing about how this new neonatal unit was specially designed to help new babies grow and develop.”

Cheralyn said returning to the centre had been emotional, particularly when she was able to show Joshua the area where his incubator had stood.

Joshua had initially experienced the cramped conditions of the former neonatal unit before being transferred to the Dyson Centre during its first weekend of operation.

The Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care | Photo © RUH

At the time, Cheralyn described the light and spacious building as a major transformation which allowed her to spend more time with her son in comfortable surroundings.

The centre was supported by a donation from the James Dyson Foundation. Research backed by the foundation later found the building had improved clinical outcomes, with babies sleeping for longer on average and most going home breastfeeding.

Abby, whose twin daughters Florence and Freya were cared for at the centre in 2025 after being born at 29 weeks, said her family spent more than eight weeks in the neonatal unit.

She said: “The kindness, compassion and dedication of the nurses and staff made such a difference. They became like family to us, supporting not only Florence and Freya but all of us through one of the most challenging times of our lives.

“The Dyson Centre will always hold a special place in our hearts, and we will always be grateful to everyone at the Dyson Centre for giving them the very best start and for the care, reassurance and kindness they showed our family every single day.”

Designed by Bath architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, the centre features a clockwise route through intensive care, special care and preparation for going home, intended to give families a sense of progress.

Its design also includes large windows providing controllable natural light, exposed timber to create a calmer environment and open spaces throughout the building.

The centre continues to receive support from hospital charity RUHX, which has funded equipment and improvements including the Lori-Grace family room, a family shower room, specialist thermometers and six advanced incubators donated by The Medlock Charitable Trust.

It has received full accreditation from the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative, silver status under the BLISS Baby Charter and Gold Ward Accreditation.

Changes introduced by the team include allowing births to be registered within the neonatal unit, reducing separation between parents and babies, and offering home nasogastric tube feeding to support earlier discharge.

Weekly music therapy sessions are also provided to support emotional wellbeing and bonding between babies and their families.

Lead nurse Kirstie Flood said the team also builds relationships through its annual Teddy Bear Picnic, which brings together families who have used the centre during the previous two years.

She said: “We invite families cared for in the past two years in the centre, so it also updates the team here on the progress of baby since they left us which is so important for the whole Neonatal unit team.”

Future plans include introducing biometric access so parents can enter the unit without delay when they are not staying there, while the team is also working towards Gold BLISS Baby Charter accreditation.