Huge boost for Royal Berkshire Hospital’s special care baby unit

BUSCOT Ward – the special care baby unit at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust – has received four new, state-of-the-art incubators.

It’s all thanks to three local charities: Babies in Buscot Support (BIBS), New Life Special Care Babies, and Royal Berks Charity.

Together, these have raised £94,860 to fund this vital equipment, which will provide life-saving support to premature and critically-ill babies.

The new generation incubators offer advanced features designed to create a safe, controlled environment for these vulnerable newborns.

Their key innovations include:

* A tilting mattress platform for improved positioning, ensuring optimal comfort and medical care.

* A built-in phototherapy unit providing essential treatment for jaundice, reducing the need for additional equipment.

* An external x-ray cassette tray, allowing imaging without disrupting temperature stability.

* A specialised air curtain that helps maintain warmth, even when access ports are opened, minimising temperature fluctuations.

These improvements provide optimal protection and specialised care to help tiny patients grow stronger during their critical early days, ensuring they receive the warmth, stability and medical support needed to thrive.

By minimising stress and promoting healthy development, these advanced incubators give premature and critically-ill newborns the best possible start in life.

BIBS chief executive Sarah Critchley said: “We’re overjoyed to have funded two of the four incubators; it’s great to see this improved technology making a difference for so many babies who receive such wonderful care through the dedication of nurses, doctors and the wider NHS team here on Buscot.”