Macclesfield District General Neo Natal Unit treats an average of 200 pre-term and seriously ill babies each year.  Babies who are very sick will need immediate stabilisation in the first minutes of life, and also again in situations where emergencies occur, such as the heart or breathing stopping in the first few days.  In these cases the baby is placed on a Resuscitaire – a purpose built treatment table with overhead lamp, heat and monitoring equipment built in.  At present pre-term babies at Macclesfield are treated and stabilised in a specialist intensive care Resuscitaire and then transferred to a closed incubator to regulate humidity and help with infection control. 

The Omnibed is the next generation of this equipment – it does the same things the existing Intensive Care table does, but with the added advantages that it has raised sides and humidity settings, to allow the baby to be immediately incubated as soon as medical intervention has finished.  The bed provides easy access around three sides for medical teams to stabilise the baby.  This reduces the risks associated with over handling the neonate immediately after getting the baby’s breathing and heart rate stabilised.

The newer model replaces existing equipment that is ten years old.  New technology provides much better monitoring and reliability, and gives pre-term and very sick babies a better chance of survival, with reduced complications.

The Giraffe Omnibed will cost £27,000.

• Total Cost: £27,000