Hospital's £3m family centre fundraiser on track

The unit currently has 14 cots for intensive care or high-dependency care, but only five bedrooms for families to stay in

A fundraising campaign to build accommodation for parents at a city's neonatal intensive care unit has reached halfway towards its £3m target.

Every year, 500 babies start their life in the unit in the grounds of Bradford Royal Infirmary, with many parents wanting to stay on site while their severely ill children are treated.

However, there are currently only five bedrooms available at any one time for parents to use, despite the unit having 14 intensive care or high-dependency cots.

Dr Yousef Gargani, a consultant neonatologist at the hospital, said: "We deliver excellent neonatal care, but we really want to support our families, all of our families, and give them the best accommodation."

"We have five bedrooms currently, but we have up to 14 intensive and high dependency care babies. That, for us, isn't enough," he said.

The planned new accommodation block would provide five additional en-suite bedrooms, as well as a kitchen, children's play area, a prayer room and a garden.

Dr Yousef Gargani has been a consultant neonatologist with the unit for three years

There are currently two bedrooms attached to the unit, which have been rated as "excellent" by the Care Quality Commission health watchdog, with the other three housed elsewhere in the infirmary.

There is also as small kitchen and play area also inside the unit.

Dr Gargani explained: "Our dream is to have somewhere just slightly removed, to offer that calm, non-clinical environment.

"It would be a 'home-from-home' for our families so they can rest and re-charge during this really difficult time."

The fundraising campaign is being led by the Bradford Hospitals Charity in partnership with The Sick Children's Trust.

It is already halfway towards its total thanks to a £1m gift from the Harry and Mary Foundation, and a further £500,000 from parents, staff and the public.

Mohammed Ashraf and his wife Amra Aslam spent a precious fortnight with their critically ill son Ahmad in the unit

Mohammed Ashraf and his wife Amra Aslam, who live in Shipley, spent the fortnight of their son Ahmad's short life in the unit.

Mr Ashraf said: "You forget about anything else. Nothing else means anything.

"Having a place where at least you have the basics and you don't need to worry about them means you can have as much time as you possibly can with your baby.

"While we were here, my wife would not go out. For a full two weeks, she didn't have a garden to go to, the windows only opened a little bit - obviously health and safety - so that was not great for her.

"But if there is a garden, and we feel close enough to where the babies are, then that will do wonders for the parents."

Only two of the five bedrooms are directly attached to the unit, with the remainder located elsewhere in the hospital

Carly Burnett, neonatal project coordinator for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said the planned new centre would ease the issue of who got to use the bedrooms.

She said: "It is a very tricky decision our senior nursing team has to make. It goes on the poorliest baby, or maybe the family that is furthest away.

"We can have families staying here for weeks and then a poorlier baby comes in, or somebody who lives further away than they do.

"We're asking them to move out of the accommodation and bringing someone else in. It's not an easy decision and it causes a lot of emotion."

Carly Burnett, a neonatal project coordinator, said families came to the unit from across Yorkshire and even as far as Scotland

The new facility would be built on vacant space at the Smith Lane side of the hospital next to the maternity unit.

If the fundraising goes to plan, it is hoped that building will start next year and be completed within 12 months.

Laura Riach, director of Bradford Hospitals Charity, said the money raised so far was a "powerful reminder" of what could be achieved for a cause that "truly matters".

"We still have a long way to go, and this is where we need support from our kind and compassionate communities across Bradford," Ms Riach said.

"Everyone knows someone who was born prematurely - a friend, a neighbour, a family member.

"Together, we can give families the chance to stay close to their baby when it matters most."

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