Bliss Baby Charter Review

The Baby Charter is a very comprehensive framework, made up of 7 principles and over 130 standards. Because of this, the programme has been very successful for the many units who have decided to sign up to it. Engaged units have made significant progress in improving FICare, reporting improved partnership with parents, which supports better outcomes for babies.  

However, as with any assessment process as comprehensive as the Baby Charter, standards and principles need to be reviewed to ensure the programme continues to be relevant and in line with ever changing practice, especially in relation to Family Integrated Care (FICare).  

We have also heard from units that the auditing process can be lengthy and that there are repetitions in the standards, therefore making the process time consuming for healthcare professionals.  

In addition, with Bliss' new strategy 2025-29, we are strengthening our commitment to tackling inequalities in neonatal care and putting equity for all babies born premature or sick at the heart of everything we do. As part of this work, we want to align the Bliss Baby Charter with our equity focus, to reinforce this aspect of its role supporting units to implement a strong foundation for  FICare.

We are therefore taking this opportunity to thoroughly review the content of the Baby Charter. At the end of this review, the Baby Charter will:​  

• Be fully up to date and in line with best practice, current frameworks and recommendations, in order to better support the foundations of FICare  
• Be streamlined with clearer evidence requirements which are as efficient as possible  
• Enable units to build the foundations for tackling inequalities in their FICare practice