Neonatal networks, which use the services and skills of different medical professionals, have been improving neonatal care across the UK. Established last year, the taskforce concerned with the initiative is now supporting new guidance – entitled the Toolkit – that has been published by the Department of Health.
Specialist NHS staff and experts from the charity Bliss have helped produce the manual, which is intended to improve the care provided for premature and sick babies for the first few days after they have been born. Making sure the right staff are on hand and that high-risk pregnancies receive extra attention are a few of the issues that the Toolkit covers.
Health minister Ann Keen commented: "I've seen the excellent care the NHS provides for small and premature babies – and the doctors and nurses working in neonatal care should be proud that more babies than ever before are surviving." She added that the guidance should help medical staff improve neonatal services and take a family-centred approach to care.
Meanwhile, premature infants are among those who could well benefit from the current work of Discovery Labs. The company is developing its proprietary technology platform to improve the outcome of patients suffering from debilitating respiratory diseases and conditions – such as cystic fibrosis and respiratory distress syndrome.
According to chairman and interim chief executive officer W Thomas Amick, the firm's pipeline programs – which include Surfaxin, Surfaxin LS and Aerosurf – have the potential to expand current worldwide research and development statistics from an opportunity worth $200 million (£121 million) to one worth $1 billion.
