Co-ordination between maternity and neonatal services still poor, but improvement has been made research finds

Despite regular doom and gloom headlines, neonatal services in England have improved, a new study claims.

The improvements are the result of new guidelines introduced in 2003, finds researchers from Imperial College London.

The results – published on the British Medical Journal website – shows the survival of premature babies has improved, but that co-ordination between maternity and neonatal services are still poor and there is a ‘continuing inadequacy’ in cot capacity.

Bliss Head of Programmes Jane Abbott said, “Bliss welcomes these findings which show that the introduction of managed clinical networks has brought about improvements in the delivery of neonatal care. It is very encouraging to see that more babies requiring specialist treatment are being born in units that can provide the right level of care. This reinforces the importance of managed clinical networks and their contribution to improving outcomes for babies born sick or premature.  However, it is clear that investment into neonatal care and better coordination between maternity and neonatal services needs to be made a priority to ensure the best outcomes for all babies and their families.”