Charity warns of neonatal care crisis

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) A crisis in the care of sick and premature babies has got worse, meaning some of the most vulnerable infants are being shipped miles across the country in search of an available cot, a charity said today.

A report by premature baby charity Bliss said pressure on neonatal units because of a lack of staffed cots meant that more than 90 per cent of intensive care units had been forced to close their doors to new admissions, compared to 80 per cent last year.

The charity said on average three babies a day were having to be transferred to different units, which were on average 126 miles away, mainly because of a shortage of trained staff.

''This is an issue of patient safety and it is unacceptable that a life-saving service is unable to provide the appropriate level of care for vulnerable babies because of financial constraints,'' said Rob Williams, Bliss chief executive.

''The most pressing need is for central government to commit to the recommended nursing standards of one nurse looking after one baby in intensive care.'' Only 3 per cent of the country's units were operating at the recommended standard of one nurse to one baby, the report found.

Health minister Ivan Lewis admitted there were problems with staffing and ''other issues'', but said infant mortality rates were now at their lowest rate ever.

He said the government had set up 24 local neonatal networks to help areas work together to try to deal with the issue.

''There are cots lying empty in some areas whilst in others the ward or the facility is full,'' he told BBC radio.

''Getting that supply and demand right has to be sorted out at a local level which is why we've developed these local clinical networks.

''Of course as a result of this report today I will be having a close look at what's happening on the ground because it's very, very important.'' REUTERS SHB BD1520