UHNM’s neonatal unit named among country’s best

University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust’s (UHNM) Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has been rated outstanding in two key areas - supporting parents and providing mother’s breast milk to premature babies and those needing specialist care.

The 2025 National Neonatal Audit Programme (NNAP) places the unit at Royal Stoke among the country’s highest-performing neonatal services with nearly all parents receiving a consultation within 24 hours and significantly more babies receiving their mother’s breast milk, compared to the national average.

At UHNM 99.4 per cent of parents received a consultation within 24 hours of their baby’s admission compared with a national average of 94.5 per cent, while 86.1 per cent of babies received their mother’s breast milk by day two compared with 73.5 per cent nationally.

NICU was rated outstanding in two key areas, supporting parents and providing mother’s breast milk to premature babies and those needing specialist care.

Dr Lee Abbott, consultant neonatologist, said: "We are extremely proud to have been recognised nationally in these two important areas of neonatal care.
 
"One reflects the quality of support and communication we provide to parents during what can be a very difficult time, while the other recognises our work to give babies the best possible start in life through early access to their mother's breast milk.
 
"These results have been achieved through the dedication of our whole team and a number of improvements across the service. This includes making better use of our BadgerNet electronic patient record system, regularly reviewing our performance data and introducing simple but effective measures to help ensure parents are kept informed about their baby's care.”
 
Katy Edwards, NICU matron added: "To be recognised among the highest-performing neonatal units in the country for both parental consultation and providing breast milk by day two is a fantastic achievement.
 
"These measures reflect areas of care that make a real difference to babies and families, from helping parents feel informed and involved in their baby's care to giving premature babies the best possible start.
 
"We're incredibly proud of this recognition and what it means for the families who place their trust in us."