Neonatal Community Outreach Team (NCOT) service launches 17 January

January 17, 2022

The Neonatal Community Outreach Team (NCOT) service officially launches today (Monday 17 January).

The service aims to:

To facilitate early discharge from hospital of babies with on-going medical/nursing needs
To promote a smooth transition from the hospital environment to home
To safely and effectively prepare the parents to be confident and competent in the care of their baby at home
To keep baby and family together to promote the development of baby and close and loving relationships.

The inclusion criteria for the service includes babies who are:

Maintaining temperature in cot for over 24 hours
No longer needing monitoring for apnoea’s (off caffeine for 24-48 hours)
Establishing oral feeds, requiring some naso gastric feeds (completing 50 per cent oral suck feeds)
Babies greater than or equal to 34 weeks gestation
Weight of greater than or equal to1.6kg (less at consultant discretion), gaining weight and neonatal consultant happy with weight gain
Requiring supplementary oxygen, where oxygen saturations are stable in a set amount of oxygen, evidenced by a satisfactory overnight oxygen saturation download prior to discharge and reviewed by chronic lung disease consultant prior to discharge who agrees for home oxygen. Discharge planning meeting with multidisciplinary team including chronic lung disease consultant, NCOT, discharge planner, health visitor and parents should take place prior to plan discharge.
Babies requiring Home Phototherapy who fulfil the guideline criteria
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome patients, weaned from morphine and not requiring morphine as a medication at time of discharge to NCOT.

For further information and referral enquiries please email swbh.ncot@nhs.net. Alternatively you can call 07870384017 or 07866934720.