South West Neonatal Network Parent Group

The parent group is made up of parents & carers who have lived experience of caring for a child that has been admitted to one (or more) of the 12 neonatal units within the South West of England.

We are Service User Voice Representatives who support the Neonatal Network by sharing our experiences and views. We are a welcoming and supportive group and we regularly seek to encourage new interest and membership. 

What do we do?

The SW Neonatal Network Parent Group provides the family perspective and supports the network team to improve families’ experiences of neonatal care in the South West region.

Some of the ways the group achieves this is by:

  • Providing parent experience and perspective to support the development of new and ongoing projects

  • Representing the patient, parent and family voice at Network meetings

  • Working alongside neonatal professionals in our regional family care coproduction group

  • Reviewing relevant network documents to ensure they are addressing family requirements appropriately and are accessible to all

Parent Group Meetings and Communications

The Parent Group meets online once a month and is currently chaired by the Evaluation & Engagement Lead (Georgina French). All meetings are arranged and facilitated by the SW neonatal network team. 

Parent Group members are invited to an online coproduction group four times a year with unit staff and parents to work on family care improvement projects.

An optional parent group members WhatsApp group is used for communications between meetings to share details regarding upcoming events and meetings, highlight relevant documents for review, request parental feedback on specific issues, to provide updates on ongoing network projects and as a forum for members to share and discuss ideas.

Terms and conditions

Membership is voluntary and there is no obligation to remain part of the group.  Written notice is requested if you intend to leave the parent group so that your details can be removed from the data base for data protection reasons.

We encourage parents to be involved only as much as they have capacity for, and understand that this may fluctuate depending on work and family life pressures.

Due the potentially emotional nature of this work we recommend that parents wait at least 12 months post discharge before volunteering for the Network.

Find Out More / Join

To find out more about the group please email or text Georgina French georgina.french@uhbw.nhs.uk /  07721432390

Alternatively you can complete the form below with your name and email address and a member of the SW neonatal network team will respond to you as soon as possible.