Baby Samuel enables critical neonatal simulation training.

With the NHS under extreme pressure and neonatal units across the UK as busy as ever, ongoing specialist training for Neonatal staff is crucial to ensuring positive outcomes.

New Life Special Care Babies, received a funding request from St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol. The request sought support for a cutting-edge training manikin known as the Premmie Anne, a newborn simulator collaboratively developed with the American Academy of Paediatrics, specifically designed to enhance neonatal resuscitation.

St Michael’s specifically requested a dark-skinned manikin which would be representative of a large proportion of their staff and patient population. Elizabeth Osmond, Assistant Clinical Lead, NICU explained ‘This manikin will be used for life support training as part of simulation training in the delivery suites and wards. It will be used by midwives in training, doctors, and neonatal nurses. We will also use it in our life support courses which include the NLS and ARNI Resuscitation Council UK courses. All our previous manikins have had lighter skin tones and are therefore not fully representative of our patients.’

New Life, founded by Mr Trevor Goodall, was delighted to be able to fund the manikin, which cost £2,500 and has been named ‘Samuel’ by the Trust after one of Mr Goodall’s twins born at 24 weeks in 1995. Both twins sadly died a week later. The charity recently funded a similar piece of equipment for the Royal Cornwall Hospital which was named Joshua.

The manikin will enable staff to hone their clinical skills and techniques in things such as airway management. The first 10 minutes after a premature baby is born are critical. The new manikin will help neonatal specialists practice in a safe and realistic team-centred environment, where learning to communicate effectively and respond as a team can improve outcomes.

New Life supplies specialist equipment and items speedily to neonatal units across the UK because of the unique way it works. Consultants and other neonatal specialists submit requests to the charity, often for equipment that would otherwise take months to source through the NHS. Some equipment that the charity has supplied is not available through NHS funding.

Established 26 years ago by Mr. Goodall following the premature birth and subsequent loss of his twin boys, New Life has evolved from a one-time charity golf day into a continuous series of fundraising events. In 2021, the charity achieved the significant milestone of £1 million, benefiting numerous families and hospitals across the UK.

To contact the charity, email trevor@newlifebabies.org.uk