The number of cots at the Queen's Medical Centre neonatal unit is set to double after plans were approved to expand the unit. The number of intensive, high dependency and special care cots at the Nottingham hospital will increase from 17 to 38 by the end of 2024.
Currently, the service has to transfer babies out of Nottingham to other hospitals each week, sometimes beyond the East Midlands, since there are not enough intensive care cots to meet demand. Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), which runs QMC and City Hospital, said the current lack of capacity was "a real problem".
Neonatal consultant Lleona Lee said: “The Nottingham Neonatal Service strives to give the best care to the babies from our local population and those from our wider regional network who need intensive care, and the current lack of capacity is a real problem.”
