The £4 million neonatal intensive care unit at Noble’s Hospital opened its doors today.
It is the first major extension to Noble’s Hospital since it opened in 2003.
The facility is located on the first floor of the east wing of the hospital, next to the Jane Crookall Maternity Ward.
Enabling works started in June 2013 and Tynwald voted to approve funds for the construction in October 2013 with building work under way that same month.
The facility was topped out by Health and Social Care Minister Howard Quayle in June 2014 with completion and handover to the department in March this year. The facility was delivered to budget and on time.
The unit has the same capacity of nine cots, as there has been in the special care baby unit, while providing more space for each one – a key requirement of current standards and ‘best practice’. There is improved overnight accommodation for parents.
The new unit allows for improvements in the treatment of terminally-ill babies and benefits from an enhanced floor plan layout to provide more privacy, as well as assisting in isolating babies, carrying out resuscitation, and in providing more storage space for vital equipment.
Consultant paediatrician and neonatologist at Noble’s Hospital, Dr Prakash Thiagarajan, said: “The new neonatal facilities are first class. Meeting constantly evolving standards and advances in medicine is a challenge and the team is very grateful for this significant investment.
‘We can now boast the best possible neonatal facilities for a level two unit and continue our focus on providing excellent care for critically-ill babies and the necessary support for their parents and families.’