Our Support continues, even after you leave the Unit
We have increased our funding for mental health support for Ward 35 families, meaning that parents on the Unit, and those who have returned home from the Unit, can benefit from the expertise of the Clinical Psychology and her team. Sadly, parents may not identify that they have mental health concerns until after leaving the Unit, and may experience anxiety, depression or even PTSD. With this increased provision, we want to be there for as many parents as possible. Please do not hesitate to get in touch and we can help you with this, or call 0191 282 4081 to be put in touch with the Clinical Psychology team directly.
Self-Referral Counselling: We also offer a self-referral counselling service to discharged Ward 35 parents, to help them process their emotions following their experience with neonatal care. You can take part in an initial 6 free sessions of individual or couples counselling, offered in partnership with the North East Counselling Service. This service is self-referred, meaning that you do not need a medical referral to benefit from this additional support. Find out more.
In 2021 we funded vCreate Neuro, an addition to the existing vCreate system, which connects babies to their parents via shared videos even when they can’t be together. vCreate Neuro enables parents to send in videos from home, post-discharge, to Ward 35 Consultants and Neonatal Therapists for early Neurodevelopmental follow up and screening. This technology makes this process more efficient, reduces the need for face-to-face clinics and increases ease of access. This technology will help many parents and babies access expert developmental follow-up monitoring, without the need to venture to the hospital.
Working with parents and staff on the Neonatal Unit, we’ve produced a pocket-book of tips for families planning for and going home. The tips cover sleep and bedtime, tums and bums, looking after yourself and more. The Home Tips aims to calm anxieties around this milestone and point you to trusted sources of guidance on each topic too.
You can get your mobile friendly PDF of the Home Tips here.
Meeting other Neonatal parents can offer vital support. Our Meet, Chat, Learn Classes are open exclusively to families from the RVI’s Neonatal Unit & Transitional Care and range from Baby Yoga and Baby Massage, Swimming and Movement, Music and Sensory. They are the perfect way meet Neonatal parents in a friendly, understanding environment. The classes are usually funded by Tiny Lives, and always free-of-charge to Ward 35 parents.
We’re proud to fund a Sling Library on the Neonatal Unit! By suppling slings and weighted dolls, parents can try out a sling and learn how best to wear it to support their baby – with the help of the Physio team – before trialling a sling on loan for up to 8 weeks. We hope to empower Ward 35 parents to use a sling with their baby, encouraging bonding between the two.
The Bubbles Groups are support and developmental groups facilitated by the Newcastle Community Nursing Team and Newcastle 0-19 service for parents whose babies have been discharged (up to 2 years/walking independently) from Ward 35 at the RVI.
For more information please download this leaflet. You can book on here.
Every year we host a big Christmas celebration for all of the families who have spent time on the Neonatal Unit. It’s hours of fun, with live entertainment, a sensory corner, soft play, bouncy castle, food, games and.. Santa! Many families meet up year-after-year at the event, and it is so amazing to see the children grow and thrive each year. Get your tickets for this years Christmas Reunion here.
This list is constantly growing to meet the developing needs of the Neonatal Unit. If you have an idea for something that would have helped you or someone you know on the Unit, we’d love to hear it. Please email info@tinylives.org.uk.
