RUH outreach team marks 25 years supporting babies at home

A community outreach team supporting babies after they leave the neonatal unit at the Royal United Hospital in Bath has marked 25 years of helping families at home.

Celebrating the special anniversary | Photo © RUH

Staff held a surprise celebration for Cath Ould, Neonatal Community Sister, who has been part of the Community Neonatal Outreach Service since it began and has seen it grow over the past quarter of a century.

The service supports babies who have received care in the Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care and who still need extra help in the first weeks or months after leaving hospital.

The outreach team visits families at home to provide support with feeding, nursing care and other practical needs. It also offers emotional support for parents and can direct families to other professional services where needed.

Cath said: “It’s a great job, so rewarding and I’m very proud of the work we do.

“We aim to act as a bridge between hospital and home for those babies who have had to have a bit of extra care in our neonatal unit.

“While helping babies to thrive when they have left the RUH and are back home, a key part of what we do is supporting parents, many of whom will have been through a very worrying time. Providing them with emotional support is very important.”

Looking back, she said the biggest change had been the scale of the service.

She said: “Apart from covering a bigger area, we also offer support to more babies than we ever have – around 90 families a year.

“We are also providing even more at-home support, such as nasogastric feeding, to help families get back to the comfort of their own homes as soon as possible.”

Mary Spence, Neonatal Outreach Nurse, said: “I have learned so much from working with Cath. It is truly a privilege to be able to care for the families in their homes and see the babies grow and thrive after their time in the Neonatal Unit.”

The surprise party was attended by former colleagues and by families who had benefited from the service, including Maria Kelleher from Midsomer Norton, whose daughter Alisha had been cared for by the team.

She said: “Words truly can’t capture how incredible the RUH’s Neonatal Outreach Service has been for us. From the very first moment we brought Alisha home, Mary and Cath have gone above and beyond in every way.

“Their passion and dedication shine through in everything they do, and it’s clear how much they genuinely care.

“Alisha absolutely adores them you can see it in her smiles and it’s just as obvious how deeply they care for her too. The support, kindness, and reassurance they’ve given us have made a lasting impact that we will carry with us forever.

“They are so much more than a service to us they’ve become like family, and we will always be grateful for everything they’ve done.”

Another parent, Frances Lee from Lacock, said: “Going home with our little one needing oxygen was incredibly daunting, however the outreach team are such a source of support and help.

“Always professional, kind and knowledgeable, as well as regular visits, I’ve felt able to reach out when I’ve had any worries. We feel really grateful for having that extra support after such a difficult journey.”

The service began in 2001 as a pilot covering Bath and Trowbridge, but now supports families across the whole RUH catchment area.

Last year, it also introduced at-home tube feeding, including nasogastric feeding for babies unable to take in enough milk on their own.