Parking is free for Parents of babies on the neonatal Unit – please ask on the unit for details how to obtain free parking.
We have twelve cot spaces available for those babies needing intensive care, high dependency care and special care.
Our unit is classified as a Local Neonatal Unit within the Eastern Neonatal Network. This means that our staff work with other medical and nursing staff within the Eastern region to provide the right care as close to the baby and family’s home as possible. If a baby is born before 27 weeks (more than 13 weeks early), or needs intensive care for a long time or an operation, then the Acute Neonatal Transport Service will help to transfer the baby to another hospital that provides more intensive and surgical care. The Eastern Neonatal Network will try and ensure that this is at Norwich, Cambridge or Luton and Dunstable.
The Paediatric and Neonatal team work with our maternity staff, also providing transitional care. This is for those babies who are well but born early between 35 weeks and before 37 weeks, or those who may need extra treatment but appear well. This care is provided on the maternity ward where babies may need extra help with feeding, or medication such as antibiotics, providing this service helps to keep mothers and babies together.
Rudham Ward is a 23-bedded, acute general paediatric ward plus 5 Assessment beds. We cater for children from the ages of 0 to 16.
We have a main ward area plus eight side rooms for very young babies or children suffering from infectious illnesses, we also have ten beds in our area designated for adolescents. We also have a 5 bedded Paediatric Assessment Unit which takes referrals from GP’s and Accident & Emergency Department (see Paediatric Assessment info).
We have a high dependency area, which can care for a maximum of two patients. We have good links with the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, who have a retrieval team for collecting intensive care patients.
Several senior doctors (Consultants) admit children to our ward for treatment of medical, surgical, orthopaedic (bones), ophthalmology (eyes), ENT (ear, nose & throat) and dental conditions.
We are ‘on take’ for emergency admissions from the Accident & Emergency Department (Casualty) and GPs 24-hours a day, seven days per week. We also take planned admissions daily for investigations and operations.
Most children who need planned surgical procedures are admitted to the Day Surgery Unit (on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital site), have their operation and go home the same day. However other operations require an overnight stay in hospital or are done are an emergency and these children come to Rudham Ward. Length of stay is kept to a minimum to reduce anxiety and disruption for the child and family.
For further information please click here
Nicki Clarke
For further information please click here
The Neonatal Lead Nurse is
Sally Crane
The Neonatal Lead Clinician is
Salamatu Jalloh
The Paediatric Critical Care Lead Nurses are
Mandy McMurray
Sally Butlin
The Paediatric Critical Care Lead Clinician is
Glynis Rewitzky
The Surgery in Children Lead Nurse is
Christopher Harrison
The Surgery in Children Lead Clinician is
Rudolf Zach
