"Grateful for the care of the Neonatal Unit"

Our son was born at 31 weeks at East Surrey Hospital. My wife had to call for an ambulance late at night (she was at home alone with our 5 year old son, as I was in South Africa at the time).

She received amazing care from the paramedics who attended, they managed to get our 5 year old out of bed and dressed and then one of the paramedics actually acted as a birthing partner to my wife prior to the arrival of my somewhat shocked father in-law at the hospital.

My son was born shortly after arrival at the maternity unit and was then transferred straight over to the neonatal unit. His breathing deteriorated during his first night and had to be put on a ventilator. In the end he spent just over 5 weeks in the neonatal unit and during this period we received the most fantastic care imaginable.

It is difficult to put into words just how amazing the staff are who work there, especially the nurses who cared for my son during his stay. We were always treated with a lot of sensitivity and although leaving a newborn baby behind in hospital feels completely unnatural, the fact that we were able to visit or phone any time day or night to see how he was getting on made things a lot easier, as was the fact we always felt he was in the best possible hands.

Our whole experience at East Surrey, from the paramedics, to the maternity unit and neonatal unit was extremely positive and we will be eternally grateful to all the staff for everything they have done for us.