NETS a life saver for Lower and Upper Hunter babies

One year ago John Hunter Children’s Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit received a boost with a Neonatal and paediatric Emergency Transport Service being brought into commission at the Children’s Hospital.

In that time the service has retrieved newborn babies from Belmont to Inverell, however of the 112 retrievals in the past year 31 have come from the Lower and Upper Hunter (Maitland 21, Muswellbrook 6, Singleton 3 and Scone 1).

The NETS ambulance is a specially designed vehicle designed to transport sick babies safely between hospitals. Longer than an average ambulance, NETS not only has the necessary equipment to transfer sick babies but also has added room to transport parents.

In total the vehicle can transport up to two sick babies, parents and three clinical staff at any one time.

This vehicle ensures babies receive time-critical treatment. Many regional or rural hospitals have a special care nursery that provide excellent facilities, however John Hunter Children’s Hospital is a designated level 6 neonatal intensive care unit, which caters for any seriously ill babies that may require life saving treatment.

Neonatologist Dr Paul Craven from John Hunter Children’s Hospital said the Hospital has been working towards this kind of transport system for many years now.

“We have spent the last four years revitalising the neonatal transport service,” Dr Craven said.

“We have gone from 40 missions to 115 missions per year since the inception of NETS and because of this we have been to extend our reach from the Lower and Upper Hunter to the North Coast.

“Now the John Hunter Children’s Hospital can cater for babies needing intensive care treatment anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

“This extended reach now allows our specialist staff to visit regional areas to educate local staff and provide ongoing support,” Dr Craven said.

Prior to this vehicles arrival staff would often have to wait until an ambulance was fitted with the right equipment before departing, now when a call comes in there is a vehicle that’s ready to go. This obviously speeds up response times in a sometime critical situation.

Note: Data above only includes retrievals, there has been a further 161 back transfers from John Hunter Children’s Hospital’s NICU. In total the vehicle has been on 273 missions to date.

Media inquiries:
Lucas Coleman - 02 4921 3844, 0407 895101 (ref HNE- 2169)