Lancashire Teaching Hospital | NICU

Transport to and from different level neonatal units can sometimes be part of the neonatal journey

Below are the most common transport scenarios parents may encounter:

You have had to be transferred antenatally to deliver your baby at Royal Preston Hospital, this is so that you and your baby has the most appropriate and advanced midwifery and neonatal care available to all of you that your home unit is unable to facilitate.
Your baby has been born and requires more advanced neonatal care, that your home unit is unable to facilitate and has been transferred to our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for that specific care.
Your baby may require more specific advanced neonatal care such as surgery that our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is unable to provide and will be transferred from our unit to a Level 4 Tertiary unit such as Manchester's St Marys or Liverpool Alder Hey / Woman's Neonatal Unit.
Babies can sometimes require specific appointments such as eye appointments at other hospitals while they remain inpatients with us and are transported to and from the appointment.
We aim to transfer baby's back to their home unit once they are bigger, stronger and are at a level of care your local home unit can facilitate, this ensures the neonatal team and consultant who will provide your baby's follow up care can get to know you and your baby prior to being discharged home.

Who will transport my baby?

Connect North West provide the neonatal transport service within Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire & South Cumbria and an out of hours service for North Wales. The team is made up of doctors, advanced neonatal nurse practitioners and nurses who are all trained and experienced in transporting babies. It may be possible for one parent to accompany their baby on the transfer journey if your baby is being transferred for an out-patient appointment or return journey to a unit closer to home.

Bowland House - Parent Hotel

Based within the Royal Preston hospital grounds the trust operates a 15 bedroom hotel of which the Neonatal Unit has been allocated several rooms. This enables parents of baby's transported into our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit from outside the Preston area to be able to stay on site, so they can be close and spend time with their baby. There is no charge for our families to stay in the hotel. The nurse caring for your baby will arrange a room in Bowland House for you if you wish to stay. Parents are provided with breakfast and breastfeeding mums are provided with vouchers for Lunch and Dinner.