Jersey General Hospital neonatal services 'need improvement'

The hospital's maternity unit was criticised for not having a private breastfeeding area for mothers

Jersey General Hospital has admitted more needs to be done to improve some of its neonatal services.

In a national survey by the Picker Institute, parents praised some areas, such as infection control, but criticised the hospital for not having a private area for breastfeeding.

The hospital was also criticised for staff discussing babies without their parents being present.

Most patients said they would recommend the hospital to a friend.

The hospital said it had received some excellent feedback, with it being ranked in the top 20% of 43 categories.

Elaine Torrance, deputy director of operations, said she was pleased the majority of categories reflected the hard work and professionalism of the "dedicated and caring" neonatal staff.

However, she conceded some areas of the hospital's maternity unit marks were less than ideal.

"We know that some of the facilities are outdated and smaller than would be acceptable in a modern hospital," she said.

Ms Torrance said investment was needed to cover the likelihood that the current site would be in use for at least another eight years,

"We have already done a lot of work towards addressing these areas... and are incorporating the views of recent mothers as part of this work," she added.