Services
Human resources: Our Neonatology Unit operates with a robust team structure that ensures comprehensive care for neonates and infants requiring specialized medical attention. Here's a breakdown of our team and their areas of expertise:
Specialty Doctors: Our unit is managed by a team of 8 specialty neonatologists. They provide round-the-clock coverage for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), high-risk deliveries, and neonatal transports, ensuring continuous medical oversight and intervention as needed. Specialists in metabolic disorders (Inborn Errors of Metabolism, IEM) are part of our team, highlighting our unit's capability to manage complex conditions that affect neonates.
Nursing Staff: A team of 80 nurses support the doctors in providing care to newborns and infants. Nursing staff play a crucial role in monitoring patients, administering treatments, and providing emotional support to families. Their presence ensures that care is delivered efficiently and compassionately, maintaining high standards of patient safety and comfort.
Our neonatology department is committed to providing comprehensive and compassionate care to newborns, especially those facing premature birth or surgical challenges.
Medical Expertise and Technology:
- Management of Preterm Birth Complications: Expertise in handling complications associated with premature births, such as respiratory distress syndrome and other neonatal conditions.
- Advanced Ventilation Support: Utilization of advanced ventilators to provide critical respiratory support for fragile newborns.
Holistic Care Approach:
- Emotional and Developmental Support: Beyond medical interventions, our department emphasizes holistic care, addressing emotional and developmental aspects crucial for newborns' well-being.
- Empathetic Support for Mothers: Supporting mothers during the challenging early stages, including empathetic care and assistance in establishing lactation for exclusive breastfeeding.
Developmental Care Practices:
- Neurodevelopmental Optimization: Implementation of developmental care practices aimed at optimizing neurodevelopmental outcomes for premature infants.
- Creating a Soothing Environment: Designing environments that promote comfort and minimize stress for newborns.
- Parental Involvement: Encouraging and involving parents in caregiving, recognizing their role in the developmental process of their child.
Collaborative Care:
- Multidisciplinary Approach: Collaboration among neonatologists, surgeons, and other healthcare professionals to ensure comprehensive medical, surgical, and developmental support.
- Well-Rounded Care: Integration of various specialties and expertise to provide well-rounded care tailored to the unique needs of each newborn.
By integrating advanced medical technologies with a holistic and developmental care approach, Our neonatology department is dedicated to not only treating medical conditions but also nurturing the overall health and development of newborns. This comprehensive approach underscores our commitment to excellence in neonatal care and improving outcomes for the most vulnerable patients.
Neonatology department cares for babies less than 28 days of age and preterm babies above 24 weeks of gestation. Our expertise is in care of high risk newborn, especially VLBWs (babies below 1500g), extreme preterm babies (<28 weeks), surgical babies and babies with IEM. Ours is the first unit to get level-IIIb NNF-accreditation (2014). We are one of the largest neonatal cardiac surgical centers in TamilNadu. We provide holistic care with state-of-the-art facilities including ECMO support for high-risk term infants and premature infants. We are well equipped to transport sick neonates from other centers within a 60km radius.
Neonatal Screening services
Our department emphasizes preventive aspect of newborn care as an inseparable and invaluable component of neonatology. We provide Immunization and universal screening programmes to detect hearing loss, hypothyroidism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, critical congenital heart disease and metabolic disorders for the newborn babies.
Newborn follow up services
All newborn babies are followed up till 1 month of age and care is then transferred to the Pediatrics Department. All high-risk preterm and term babies discharged from NICU get a comprehensive neurodevelopmental follow-up till 6 years of age, including developmental, nutritional, speech and language and ophthalmological assessments.Community outreach services
Doctors and nurses from our department, partnering with the department of Public Health, are actively involved in training doctors and nurses throughout TamilNadu in the BNCRP programme (Since 2012). Our department conducts weekly clinic (every Tuesday) for children with developmental delays and genetic problems at VidyaSudha, an NGO that takes care of children with special needs. Our Department initiated and supervised the development of a 25-bed neonatal care facility as an urban low-cost neonatal intensive care unit in Voluntary Health Services, Taramani, Chennai, a non-profit organization. Consultants from our department are also involved in mentoring neonatal units of remote and rural areas in the most backward states in India under Emmanuel Hospital Association.
