Despite repeated commitments from the Government and NHS England that a review of maternity and neonatal estates would shine a light on current levels of parental accommodation on neonatal units to guide investment decisions, the Maternity and neonatal infrastructure review findings report (published 11 September) fails to make a single reference to these essential facilities.
Bliss, the UK’s leading charity for babies born premature or sick, has long campaigned for investment to improve access to overnight accommodation on neonatal units. While The NHS Long Term Plan committed significant funding to enhance neonatal services with a clear commitment that this would include “enhancing experience of families through...investment in improved parental accommodation”, this failed to materialise.
In 2024, up-to-date research from Bliss for their Families Kept Apart campaign found that for every 10 babies that need to stay overnight in neonatal care, there is only one room available for a parent to stay with them. Evidence is clear that access to accommodation is critical for reducing separation, which is harmful for babies and their families, and supports parents to be partners in delivering their baby’s care. This is important because babies have better short and long term outcomes when parents can be present for as long as they want to be – including overnight – and fully involved in their care.
Following a letter from a Bliss campaigner to their local MP, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, as part of this campaign, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting himself wrote to the Prime Minister in October 2024 confirming that “The Department is working with NHS England to ensure more parents can stay in hospital with their babies while they receive care. NHS England has conducted a survey of maternity and neonatal facilities, including accommodation for parents and bereavement suites, to identify the work that needs to be done.”
In November 2024 the House of Lords Preterm Birth Inquiry then called for the estates review to be published, to include setting out the proportion of neonatal units which can provide sufficient accommodation, as well as plans for investment. In its response the Government committed that NHS England would publish findings of the survey and confirmed it had examined compliance against parental accommodation standards and that these “provide important evidence when considering the future investment needed to support services that meet babies’ needs and enable parents to be properly involved in their baby’s care.”
The Government and NHS England have long acknowledged the importance of neonatal accommodation in supporting parental partnership, and the need to provide more of it; and have also repeatedly stated that this long-awaited review of maternity and neonatal estates would provide both the latest information on parental accommodation on which to base future plans, and set out a way forward. However, the published review does neither.
Caroline Lee-Davey, Bliss Chief Executive, said: “Having your newborn baby admitted to neonatal care is always extremely difficult, and for the vast majority of families this is made worse every day by having no choice but to leave their baby overnight, every night. Many parents tell us this is the most heartbreaking part of having a baby in neonatal care. Some families may not spend a full 24 hours with their baby until they are nearly ready to go home – for some, this can be months after their baby is born.
“I am exceptionally disappointed and angry that the long-promised maternity and neonatal estates survey fails even to mention parent accommodation on neonatal units, let alone provide any useful insights that could be used to inform future investment decisions at a local, regional and national level.
“This is just the latest in a long line of repeated failures and broken promises to address issues surrounding neonatal parent accommodation, one of the most significant barriers to parental partnership in care. There is no quick fix to these issues, but continually missing opportunities to make any progress does nothing except ensure that thousands more babies and families will continue to experience the pain of separation every year”.
“We note that the Maternity & Neonatal Investigation Terms of Reference include a section on ‘Investigating revenue and capital investment’, including to identify and prioritise opportunities for targeted investment which will achieve high-impact for ‘the experience of women and families’. We would urge the Government to ensure that this does not become another missed opportunity, by ensuring that neonatal accommodation for parents features strongly in this area of the investigation”.
Relevant documents:
Bliss policy paper: Families kept apart: parent accommodation on the neonatal unit in England
Rec 5: NHS England should publish the findings of its maternity and neonatal estates survey, setting out what proportion of neonatal units are currently able to provide sufficient accommodation for all families, as per the updated service specification for neonatal critical care.
Rec 6: In addition, the Government and NHS England should set out their plans for future investment in parental accommodation on neonatal units, to support improved provision of family integrated care.
Rec 5 response: NHS England will publish the findings of the NHS maternity and neonatal estates survey, which examined compliances against the current estates’ standards, including the requirements of neonatal parental accommodation, early next year.
Rec 6 response (most relevant)The findings of NHS England’s maternity and neonatal estates survey will provide important evidence when considering the future investment needed to support services that meets babies’ needs and enables parents to be properly involved in their baby’s care.
Significant extension and improvement of parental accommodation on neonatal units would require additional investment, and any further actions will therefore need to be considered in the round in the context of the 10 Year Health Plan and phase 2 of the spending review.
Key line: The Department is working with NHS England to ensure more parents can stay in hospital with their babies while they receive care. NHS England has conducted a survey of maternity neonatal facilities, including accommodation for parents and bereavement suites, to identify the work that needs to be done.
Parliamentary Questions:
Abitsam Mohamed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for his anticipated timeline for the publication of the NHS Maternity and Neonatal Estates Review
Response from Karin Smyth: HS England will publish the findings of the National Health Service maternity and neonatal estates survey, which examined compliance against the current standards for estates, including the requirements of neonatal parental accommodation. The Government's response to the House of Lords Pre-term Birth Inquiry committed to publishing the survey in early 2025, and the ambition remains to publish it as soon as possible.
The Baroness Wyld (Conservative): (HL6666) To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Government response to the House of Lords inquiry into preterm birth: reducing risks and improving lives on 14 January, whether they have received the findings of the NHS maternity and neonatal estates survey; and if so, when they expect to publish them.
The Baroness Merron (Labour): NHS England expects to shortly publish the findings of their survey of maternity and neonatal estates, which examined compliances against the current estates' standards, including the requirements of neonatal parental accommodation.
