Our Neonatal Unit at Northern Hospital Epping received a Rad 5 Pulse Oximeter with Neonatal Sensor donation, through the Humpty Dumpty Foundation.

The piece of equipment enables a new model of care that will ensure all newborns have their vital signs checked at 48 hours after birth, and checked prior to discharge.

Barbara Rischitelli, Nurse Unit Manager Neonatal Unit, said the equipment was vital, especially at the early stages of life.

“Oxygen in the blood is really quite vital when babies are first born. The baby might need oxygen and, without that monitor, we are not able to actually monitor that,” she said.

“If the baby has low oxygen saturation, then we would administer oxygen and potentially do mechanical ventilation to be able to bring those saturation levels up.”

The new equipment will allow staff to access this much-needed equipment in a more swift and efficient way. The introduction of the Rad 5 Pulse Oximeter with Neonatal Sensor will ensure equipment is on hand and accessible for staff, avoiding the inefficiencies of needing to retrieve equipment from different points of the ward. This will increase safety and also improve the level of service to patients.

“Because it is portable, we can take it to theatre, we can even take it to the wards because sometimes we will have a baby that could be deteriorating and that is our first initial observation that we know the baby is in trouble,” Barbara said.

“We are grateful for this piece of equipment. It will definitely assist in caring for our babies and giving them optimal treatment.”

Northern Health is one of Victoria’s busiest health services. Our population in the rapidly growing northern suburbs is predicted to increase by just under a quarter of a million people by 2031. The need for easily accessible and readily equipped maternity services is vital.

Pina Di Donato, Acting Executive Director, Public Affairs and Foundation, said, “It is very rewarding for us at Northern Health Foundation to know we can make a difference to our tiny patients. We have a wonderful network of supporters, one of which is Humpty Dumpty Foundation. We are extremely grateful for their contributions.”

The Humpty Dumpty Foundation is a children’s charity that, for more than 30 years, has been providing essential and often life-saving medical equipment for children in Paediatric Wards, Neonatal Units, Maternity and Emergency Departments across Australian hospitals.

Featured image: Annie Abraham, Associate Nurse Unit Manager Neonatal Unit, with Pampha Khanal, Clinical Nurse Specialist Neonatal Unit.