Royal Bolton Hospital - Incubator

The Maternity Unit at Bolton handles an average of 4000 births each year, and approximately 10% of these will need intervention immediately after birth, whether because they are born early or with health complications. The vast majority of babies needing special care will need to be placed in an incubator to ensure that their body temperature and oxygen levels are maintained. These life-saving devices can make a tremendous difference to the long-term health of a new-born baby, and the technology behind them is improving all the time.

We have been asked to provide a new, state of the art incubator which gives the best chance of a speedy recovery to a baby needing special care. The Neo Natal Unit already has incubators available, but as new, improved models come on the market it is not possible for the NHS to replace old models. The newer model of incubator which is required by the ward has the facility for ambient oxygen, which removes the need for some of the tubes to be attached to the baby.

There is also an added benefit of the new model, which is that it is height adjustable, allowing for medical procedures to be carried out on the baby without moving it to an operating table. This is much less disruptive, and speeds up treatment.

We wish to ensure that the best possible equipment is always available, and we can only do this through voluntary donations.

The incubators cost £12,180.00 each, and we are currently trying to replace two incubators.