Families with premature and sick babies in Wales will receive
better support through a new programme to improve neonatal care
standards across the country.
Baby charity Bliss has been awarded almost £100,000 funding by
the Welsh Government to help support families, improve staff
training and undertake research to reduce health inequalities.
Around 2,800 premature and sick babies born every year in Wales
will benefit from improved care standards.
As part of the programme, all neonatal units across Wales will
work towards achieving Bronze level accreditation under the Bliss
Baby Charter standards. The standards focus on improving outcomes
for babies by ensuring all parents can play a meaningful role as
partners in their neonatal care.
The Quality Statement for Maternity and Neonatal Services
recommends that health boards follow these standards.
Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing will visit the University
Hospital Wales' neonatal unit today (Monday).
She said: “It's really important for parents of sick and
premature babies to be fully involved in their children's care
and have the option of staying as close to their babies as
possible.
“Bliss does fantastic work and I'm pleased to fund this programme
to improve standards of care in neonatal intensive care units
across the country.”
Caroline Lee-Davey, Bliss' chief executive said:
"We are delighted to receive this important funding from the
Welsh Government which will enable us to establish a new
dedicated programme of support to improve outcomes for the most
vulnerable babies in Wales and their families.
“We look forward to collaborating with the Welsh Government and
with our neonatal health professional colleagues and community
partners in Wales on what we hope will be a programme that
delivers real change for babies born premature or sick."
Under the programme, Bliss will develop bilingual support
materials and increase access to Bliss' comprehensive suite of
information and support for Welsh families. The charity will
focus particularly on reaching parents from minority ethnic
communities and socio-economically deprived areas who often face
additional barriers to accessing quality care.
Dr Ian Morris, clinical director of neonatal services at
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said:
“We are proud to support the launch of Bliss' programme of work
in Wales. Our neonatal teams work tirelessly alongside families
to deliver the very best care for premature and sick babies and
working with Bliss will help us place families firmly at the
heart of that journey.
“By working in partnership with Bliss, Welsh Government, and
colleagues across Wales, we can ensure family-centred care is
embedded consistently in every neonatal unit.”
Notes to editors
Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing will visit the Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit at the University Hospital of Wales in
Cardiff on Monday 29th September 2025.
The Minister and representatives from Bliss and Cardiff and Vale
University Health Board will be available for pre-recorded
interviews at the visit as well as provisionally a family whose
baby is being cared for in NICU.
