Neonatal
What we do
Our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) provides specialist care for preterm infants and infants born with a range of complex surgical problems. We specialise in respiratory medicine, liver, abdominal and eye surgery, short gut, neurology, neurosurgery, neurodevelopment and infant nutrition.
We are a level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. We care for babies born prematurely, especially those born under 28 weeks gestation and babies of any gestation who are very unwell after birth or have been born with complex care needs identified before or soon after birth and need intensive care.
We also work closely with the Harris Birthright Centre, whose antenatal diagnostic service detects conditions before babies are born, enabling them to be given appropriate treatment after birth and sometimes before.
The NICU has many different specialists including physiotherapists, dieticians, occupational therapists, speech therapist, psychologist and medical engineers, who all work with our team to provide the best multidisciplinary care for children while they are with us.
In addition, we provide follow-up care in outpatients to monitor the progress of many of the infants we have treated in the NICU.
As well as providing high-quality treatment for infants, we also have a world-renowned research group on our unit which specialises in investigating neonatal respiratory illnesses and other conditions.
Take a tour around the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
We have launched an interactive 3D tour of our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at King’s College Hospital, allowing parents and families to virtually explore the unit before and during their stay.
You can navigate through the unit, family facilities, and the route between the unit and our Golden Jubilee Wing entrance.
Information tags explain the different areas of the unit and the equipment that might be used, helping families to familiarise themselves with the clinical area and gain valuable information about their stay.
We appreciate that it can be a very worrying time for parents whose babies may need specialist care on our unit, and we hope that being able to visualise the unit before accessing in person can provide some reassurance.
If you are a parent or carer and wish to use the virtual tour to explore the NICU where your baby was cared for, please make sure you are in a safe space and feel emotionally ready to revisit the unit. We know that revisiting the unit, even years down the line, can bring back emotional memories, so please take care.
The tour was developed in partnership with the London Neonatal Operational Delivery Network.
Our nurseries
All babies will be admitted to the nursery appropriate for the care they need.
Intensive Care Units 1 and 2 (ICU 1 and ICU 2)
These areas are where we care for critically ill infants. Often these babies need help to breathe using a breathing machine or ventilator. Most babies will need specialist medication and fluids.
Intensive Care Unit 3 (ICU 3) and High Dependency Units 1 and 2 (HDU 1 and HDU 2)
These areas are generally considered a step down from intensive care. Babies do not need intensive care but continue to need close monitoring.
Special Care Nursery
In this nursery, babies need minimal monitoring. We help to prepare you and your baby to be discharged home by supporting their growth and feeding.
Transitional Care
Your baby may need extra care but not need to be admitted onto NICU. Transitional Care allows your baby to stay with you while receiving specialist care from the neonatal medical and nursing team. It is in the postnatal ward (William Gilliatt Ward) and avoids unnecessary separation of you and your baby. If your baby is assessed at any time to need more specialist support, they may need to be admitted to the NICU.
How to make a donation
King’s College Hospital Charity
King’s College Hospital Charity supports the NICU to raise funds for resources for babies including positioning and comfort aids as well as developmental and sensory toys and equipment. Resources used by our team of therapists and nurses have a positive impact on developmental outcomes for babies.
Funds also provide facilities and support for families and carers to help them navigate their neonatal journey and ensure they are well supported and able to meet their parenting goals and be active participants in their baby’s care.
Donate to the King’s College Hospital Charity NICU campaign.
Ickle Pickles
Ickle Pickles helps support vulnerable babies at a critical time in their lives by funding equipment for neonatal intensive care units.
King’s has benefited from the purchase of reclining chairs for parents to comfortably undertake kangaroo cuddles, incubators, ventilators, developmental care equipment, twin cot and refurbishment of parent facilities. Ickle Pickles also provided funding for our NICU 3D interactive tour.
When you give to Ickle Pickles you can select King’s College Hospital to direct your donation.
Location
Fourth floor, Golden Jubilee Wing, King’s College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS
Contact Details
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- Main Reception: 020 3299 3553
- Neonatal secretary: 020 3299 8134
- Intensive Care Units 1 and 2: 020 3299 3553
- Intensive Care Unit 3: 020 3299 8282
- High Dependency Unit 1: 020 3299 8281
- High Dependency Unit 2: 020 3299 4350
- Special Care Nursery: 020 3299 2066
- Care Pathway Team: [email protected]
- Practice Development Nurse Team: [email protected]
Recommended external resources
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Caring for your baby when the future is uncertain – information for parents about perinatal palliative care (Together for Short Lives and Bliss)
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Why is my baby being offered an RSV immunisation? – information for parents of premature babies who are offered Nirservimab to help protect their baby against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (UK Health Security Agency)
Patient information leaflets
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Feeding information when your baby is discharged from the Neonatal Unit | 225 KB | |
| Going home after abdominal surgery: advice from the neonatal unit | 182 KB | |
| Heart murmurs in babies | 85 KB | |
| Parent-led ward rounds (Family Integrated Care) | 170 KB | |
| Supporting your baby’s developmental care on the Neonatal Unit | 807 KB | |
| Using breast milk fortifier (BMF) at home | 85 KB | |
| Why does my baby need a hip scan? | 241 KB | |
| Why does my baby need antibiotics? | 179 KB |
Conditions we treat
We treat paediatric neonatal conditions.
Booking a patient at King’s
For all enquiries, contact 020 3299 3553
Key Clinical Staff
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Ms Judith Angell | Matron |
| Dr Ravinda Bhat | Clinical Lead Neonatal Services |
| Dr Rashmi Gandhi | Deputy Clinical Lead for Neonatal Services and Deputy Clinical Director for Child Health |
| Ms Babini Krishnan | Lead Nurse |
| Ms Ade Omofade | Matron |
| Petra Pasztorikova | Practice Development Nurse |