The Wellington and Waikato neonatal units a
re the proud owners of ‘Premature Anne’ manikins. These are state of the art, realistically proportioned 25 week premature manikins, designed for simulation training for healthcare professionals involved in resuscitation and care of premature babies. This support comes from The Little Miracles Trust and is a result of being the Charity partner of the 2017 NZFMA Thomson Reuters Charity Golf Classic.
Pictured to the right are Rosemary Escott of the Wellington NICU and Maria Chandler of the New Zealand Financial Markets Association (NZFMA) viewing a manikin for the first time.
New tools for enhanced care
The first 10 minutes are critical for a preterm newborn. When complications arise, healthcare professionals must deliver care to incredibly babies as small as 500 grams (the weight of a block of butter). Giving health professionals the right tools to develop and practice their skills is key, and that’s why the Premature Anne simulator has been purchased. Providing realistic training experiences will help save these tiniest of lives and reduce the chances of complications.
The donation of the Premature Anne manikins enables medical professionals to simulate premature stabilisation and resuscitation far more realistically. These manikins will provide valuable learning and practice for medical staff to visualise and intubate the airway of a very premature baby.
Between Wellington and Waikato, every year, they care for over 2,000+ neonatal babies and the care of these fragile babies will be greatly enhanced through better practised and trained staff. New Zealand operates a centralised care model where those babies needing critical care are cared for in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) in the main centres. Babies born below 30 weeks gestation (10 weeks early) and/or with critical health needs, will be transferred from the regional Specialist Care Baby Units (SCBUs) in the regional cities to a NICU. Due to this, families from across New Zealand will be helped through this support.
The Little Miracles Trust has three objectives; - Supporting neonatal families through the stress and anxiety of their journey
- Funding neonatal research to increase understanding and enhance outcomes
- Supporting the neonatal units and their staff so the babies receive the best care possible
The funds raised during the NZ Charity Golf Classic have helped The Little Miracles Trust to support parents on a neonatal journey in many ways. In addition to the Premature Anne manikins covered above, we have also:
- supported neonatal research and the work of Dr Max Berry to learn more and enhance the care of premature and sick full-term babies – learn more here
- enhanced current and created new support material for parents – you can view these here
- delivered books and support material to every neonatal unit in New Zealand. Reading to your baby is important for both the parents and babies – learn more here
