18 • 2021 • Developmental Observer The UK NIDCAP Centre was originally based at St Mary’s Hospital in London with Inga Warren CBE, primary author of the FINE programme, as Senior NIDCAP Trainer. Following mergers and reorganisation of hospitals within the Trusts, the training centre moved down the road to UCLH, London NHS Foundation Trust in 2017. The centre director is Professor Neil Marlow with Dr. Giles Kendall, clinical lead for the Neonatal Unit (NNU), as operational director. The core strategic team is comprised of senior neonatal staff including the lead nurse and two additional consultants, and education and development team representatives. The group is chaired by a parent representative, the mother of a girl born extremely preterm 15 years ago and cared for at UCLH. Unfortunately, a current team photo is not available due to COVID-19 restrictions. The objectives of the UK NIDCAP Centre are to deliver a unique educational programme designed to promote optimal developmental outcomes for high risk pre- term and full term babies, and to improve the experience of hospital care for infants and parents. An additional aim is to create Infant and Family Centered Developmen- tal Care leaders in the UK. To achieve our objectives, teaching is a prime focus with routinely scheduled FINE Level 1 and 2 courses run by NIDCAP Professionals. Attendance at these courses is a pre-requisite for those intending to progress to NIDCAP training. Pre-FINE education has been trialled and is currently being adapted for online use in collaboration with the Australasian NIDCAP Training Centre. The idea is to incorporate this into induction for new staff, so they begin to associate the impact of their input and interactions on brain development. FINE Level 3, which supports innovation and leadership, has also been available with Inga Warren and Beverley Hicks as mentors. A quality improvement project on non-pharmacological pain management undertaken by one participant, a neonatal consultant, was recently presented at an international conference1. We strive to provide ongoing contact and support for FINE 2 and NIDCAP Training Centers Around the World The UK NIDCAP Centre at University College London Hospital (UCLH) DOI 10.14434/do.v14i1.31815 The Neonatal Team, UCLH, celebrating World Prematurity Day with 'Superheroes' theme Developmental Observer • 2021 • 19 NIDCAP graduates through Masterclasses, the most recent being held in London and Bristol. On a wider scale, both trainers, Inga Warren and Gillian Kennedy present regularly at interna tional conferences. Inga Warren also runs FINE courses abroad with other faculty mem- bers who are all NIDCAP Professionals. The courses in Hun- gary and Romania have been run in collaboration with parent organisations. Additionally, both Inga Warren and Gillian Kennedy are actively involved in research and development, with two publi- cations produced this year relating to infant and family centred care2,3. Research involving the use of our Angel Eye© webcam on the neonatal unit is in progress. The origins of this research links back to the 2016 NIDCAP Trainers Meeting Journal Club in Bologna, Italy and the subsequent 2017 presentation at the Congress of joint European Neonatal Societies (jENS) in Venice. In preparation for this, staff were surveyed for their views on the introduction of webcams. The information garnered from the survey is forming part of the research study. The same team is also keen to explore the impact of masks on language development in partnership with other centres to enable comparison between units where practice has varied. Where possible, we promote the NIDCAP philosophy in a wider arena. Inga Warren frequently works jointly on projects with our NIDCAP colleagues around the world4. Gillian Ken- nedy is an expert advisor for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and was a committee member for the guide- line on specialist neonatal respiratory care. In 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic began impacting babies cared for in neonatal units and their families worldwide. Even within the same city, neonatal units adopted different practices, with some restricting parental presence and/or requiring masks be worn. Here at UCLH, our NIDCAP centre base, the ethos of not separating babies and parents has been maintained, although siblings and other close family members are currently not able to be present. Guided by our infection control nurse lead, also a senior neonatal nurse, parents who are asymptomatic have unrestricted access and are not required to do any more than the usual handwashing practice. No protective aprons, gloves or masks are worn, and both parents are welcome to be with their baby for as long as they want. Unsurprisingly, COVID-19 has had a negative effect on wider ranging matters related to the UK NIDCAP Centre. At the start of 2019, there was agreement of the need to establish a new train- er-in-training position and approval was given by the NFI board. The intention was to identify funding from the Women’s Health directorate to fulfil this aim by augmenting monies generated from running FINE courses at the Trust. Regrettably, the introduction in March last year of a new electronic patient record system and the current ongoing health crisis are issues which, understandably, have taken priority and redirected resources. Nevertheless, the future looks brighter with more robust measures closer to being ratified which would allow us to begin this training. This situation perhaps brings to light a situation which may impact others in the NIDCAP community. The move from St. Mary’s to UCLH plus intervening factors described above have meant the Centre is still becoming established on this site. In addition to this, the present trainers are of retirement age (although much younger in spirit!). Both factors provide extra challenges for the new trainer-in-training and thought is being given as to how best we can support this individual, such as Inga Warren and Gillian Kennedy obtaining honorary contracts to enable ongoing neonatal unit input and contact. In response to the pandemic, we have tried to adapt our teaching methods and now deliver FINE 2 courses online. The adaptation of FINE 2 for remote teaching has been far easier than the current project of preparing FINE 1 (Foundation Tool- kit) for online accessibility. That said, this is also nearly ready to be trialed in the format of shortened lectures with creative solu- tions to the more practical elements of the course. In some ways the increase in video conferencing has opened possibilities. Our Developmental Group had ground to a halt, not so much due to lack of interest, rather more to do with staff availability to attend and participate. Now staff can join in wher- ever they are with the meetings timed to suit those who are on shift. We are approaching topics differently, tasking ourselves to explore our current stances and beliefs about subjects. Partici- pants who have reservations about areas under discussion take the lead on literature searches into the subject, endeavouring to find a balance in the evidence base. This is proving to open our minds and inspire more inclusive planning. Despite the challenges of the past year, we celebrated World Prematurity Day in fine style! With the theme of ‘Superheroes’, staff donned t-shirts (Batman and Robin clearly ended up wear- ing two masks each!) and the babies all received a hand crocheted small blanket shaped like a Superhero cape. Naturally, food was shared and enjoyed with one of the junior doctors making a wonderful cake. This joyous occasion and the recent more posi- tive news about a potential trainer-in-training contributed to an uplifting end to 2020. References: 1. Akeyempon A, Hicks B, Warren I. Non-pharmacological Pain & Stress Management: FINE 3 Quality Improvement Project. The 31st NIDCAP Trainers Meeting, 21-23 October 2020. 2. Mendizabal-Espinosa RM, Warren I. Non evidence-based beliefs increase inequalities in the provision of infant and family centred neonatal care. Acta Paediatrica. 2020, 109(2):314- 320. DOI: 10.1111/apa.14972. 3. Tan A, Pelone F, Arnold S, Anderson J, Kennedy G, Goodmand J. Support and informa- tion needs of parents and carers of preterm babies requiring respiratory support on the neonatal unit: A qualitative systematic review. Journal of Neonatal Nursing. 2020, 26:93–100. DOI:10.1016/j.jnn.2019.11.003. 4. Warren I. Education in the Age of GLANCE. The Virtual 2020 Stockholm Conference on Ultra-Early Intervention, 19 March 2020. Inga Warren (l) and Gillian Kennedy are actively involved in research and developement