Walsall babies born prematurely will benefit from a tailor-made package of care that reduces brain injury and death.
PERIPrem (Perinatal Excellence in Reducing Injury in Premature birth) has been launched at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust today.
It was co-produced by the West of England, South West Academic Health Science Network and the South West Neonatal Operational Delivery Network.
PERIPrem is a perinatal care bundle of 11 interventions that demonstrate a significant impact on brain injury and mortality rates amongst babies born prematurely. It also forges new ways of working, where parents and clinicians from Obstetrics, Midwifery and Neonatal join together to drive forward and revolutionise care for preterm babies.
The evidence-based interventions optimise outcomes for the earliest and most vulnerable babies, increasing their chances of leading a fuller, healthier life.
During the process, a PERIPrem Baby Passport will be given to both clinical teams and parents which ensures that care is standardised, regardless of transfer in utero or after birth. It creates a more unified approach to perinatal working.
Dr Pratima Jain (Neonatal Lead – PERIPrem Project), Dr Grisham Smotra (Obstetric Lead – PERIPrem Project), Meenu Thottungal (Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner), Susan Cosgrove (Neonatal Sister), Minarun Nessa (Neonatal Sister) and Neeta Kumari (Senior Speciality Doctor – Neonates) and Sangeeta Selvaraj (Trainee Doctor – Obstetrics and Gynaecology) have been hosting a mobile stall around the Trust to inform staff about PERIPrem.
They said: “We are all very excited about seeing the PERIPrem care bundle in action and its direct positive impact on our patient care.
“It will mean we are doing all we can to support the reduction of brain injury in our premature babies. This care bundle will also empower parents and fully involve them in the care of their newborn which we know is so important for both them and baby.
“This new package will also help our staff have improved communication across the specialities and allow a smoother collaboration. Teams will find sharing and understanding babies’ history easier as patient information will be in one place.
“We hope this launch will aid us in achieving the best patient care possible and support our vision of ‘providing safe, high quality care across the Antenatal, Maternity and Neonatal teams’.”
The 11 interventions of PERIPrem are:
- Birth in the right place
- Antenatal steroids
- Magnesium sulphate
- Optimal cord management
- Thermoregulation
- Maternal early breast milk
- Volume targeted ventilation
- Caffeine
- Prophylactic hydrocortisone
- Probiotics
- Intrapartum antibiotics prophylaxis