"Exemplary standards of care"

Following her premature birth (33 weeks), my daughter was taken to the neonatal ICU. When I first visited my daughter, I was in a state of shock. Fortunately, the caring and professional staff ensured that I understood the treatments my daughter was receiving and the purposes of the various monitors and tubes. Above my daughter's incubator was a hand-drawing of an elephant with the words, "You are my sunshine". This small act of kindness was a source of genuine comfort.

My wife and I were accommodated in a private room in the ward. The staff could not have been kinder and more thoughtful. The staff brought us hot meals and reminded us to eat. They checked regularly on my wife's welfare, helped us to cope with our unexpected situation and congratulated us on the birth of our daughter.

After a few days in ICU, my daughter was transferred to a room in the same corridor with four other cots. Although less intensive, she received the same high standard of care with a dedicated midwife in the room at all times. The staff made a special effort to get to know all the parents and we felt secure in the knowledge that our daughter was receiving the highest levels of care and attention when we left the hospital at night.

Fortunately (and undoubtedly helped by the efforts of the staff), our daughter made consistent progress and was transferred to the Special Care Baby Unit and quickly thereafter to the Transitional Care Unit. The staff here were equally outstanding. My wife and I were placed in a private room where we were given the time and support to care for our daughter and to establish a routine before taking her home. The staff could not have been more helpful and supportive, answering our many questions and providing my wife with valuable help to establish breast-feeding.

Given the exemplary standards of care provided by this well established team, I was disappointed to learn of the plans to downgrade this neonatal unit. Had my daughter been moved to a hospital in Glasgow following her birth, our experience would have been unnecessarily traumatic. In addition to the increased travel costs and times, we would not have benefited from the support network at University Hospital Wishaw.