Developmental Observer  •  2020  •  9  

Background

In New South Wales, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead 
(CHW) is part of a regionalised health system where infants who 
require intensive care for surgery in the newborn period are often 
transported to the CHW via a Newborn Transport Service or 
the woman is transferred for delivery at a High Risk Obstetric 
Unit associated with a Children’s Hospital. This often means 
families are separated and there are competing needs of families, 
siblings and work commitments many kilometres from the Grace 
Centre for Newborn Intensive Care (GCNIC). In 2017, staff in 
the GCNIC started a Family Support Volunteer (FSV) Program 
designed to help support parents when they need to leave the 
hospital for periods of time for other obligations which may 
include work, family commitments and/or geographical distance 
from the hospital. The priority remains the attachment of the 
infant to their parents and supporting the family through an 
individualised approach to care, frequent open communication 
and promoting opportunities for the parents to be involved in 
their infants’ care.

Aim

To describe the implementation of a unit-based Family Support 
Volunteer (FSV) Program to support parents and their babies 
who are in the NICU for surgery. 

Methods

Following recommendations from a NIDCAP Advanced Practi-
cum in 2017, a program to support families in instances where 
it is not possible for them to always be present with their babies 
was implemented. Twelve FSV’s were recruited from the hospi-
tal’s existing ward volunteer program. Volunteers with prior ex-
perience working in hospital clinical areas and with an expressed 
interest in working in the NICU were each offered six to 12 
hours per week in the FSV role. They were provided with a four-
hour orientation program facilitated by a NIDCAP Trainer and a 
social worker. Training included basic skills for: the identification 
of infant stress signals; support and comfort through positioning; 
ways to hold and talk to the baby whilst offering support; and 
acknowledgement of the role of the parents within the NICU. 
Families and babies were recruited to the program by the FSV 
using an opt in/opt out parent consent process; bedside docu-
mentation identified families who consented for inclusion. The 
project was endorsed by the Executive Director of Nursing and 
had ethical approval through the clinical governance unit of the 
organisation. Following a ten month trial, a survey was distrib-
uted to the volunteers, families and staff to gauge the success of 

the program and to identify if changes were required. The survey 
was distributed electronically by the program coordinator and 
consisted of ten open-ended and yes/no questions. The online 
survey was open for completion for four weeks. 

Results

Ten families were surveyed regarding the FSV program. Eight 
(80%) of respondents had used the program. All (100%) of 
families that used the program identified they would recommend 
the program to other families.

One hundred percent of the FSV’s completed the evalua-
tion. They indicated the majority of their time was spent com-
forting babies, followed by recruiting families to the program.

Ninety-two percent of staff (n=28) indicated a Family 
Support Volunteer had assisted them by providing comfort to 
newborn infants under their care. All (100%) of the respondents 
found the support offered by FSV’s useful by reducing periods  
of crying and distress for babies. Eighty-nine percent of staff 
identified the presence of FSV’s allowed them to complete  
other tasks. 

Conclusion

The Family Support Volunteers provided an important role in 
the NICU by helping parents when they were unable to be pres-
ent with their baby. The collaboration between the volunteers, 
families and staff has resulted in the needs of the babies being 
met to reduce crying periods and settling the babies following 
interventions. 

Supporting Families in the Neonatal Setting: It’s Time to  
Get Creative!
James Nunez K, Griffiths N, Gittany H

Grace Centre for Newborn Intensive Care
Australasian NIDCAP Training Centre
The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, Australia

The 30th Annual NIDCAP Trainers Meeting

DOI: 10.14434/do.v13i1.29084