Watford General Hospital is expanding its highly regarded in‑house newborn resuscitation training to include paramedics, strengthening lifesaving care for babies both in the hospital and across the local community.
For more than a decade, Watford General’s neonatal and maternity teams have delivered the Resuscitation Council UK Newborn Life Support (NLS) course on site, ensuring staff are equipped with the most up‑to‑date skills in emergency newborn care. Building on this proven expertise, the hospital is now formally opening the programme to paramedics from the East of England Ambulance Service, supported by NHS England funding.
The course brings together professionals from maternity, neonatal and community services, creating a collaborative learning environment where delegates can discuss real‑world scenarios, share experience and learn from each other’s perspectives.
Dr Sankara Narayanan, Consultant Neonatologist at Watford General Hospital and Course and Medical Director for the local RCUK NLS programme, said:
“This partnership strengthens our commitment to high‑quality multidisciplinary training. We have been delivering this specialised course in‑house for many years, and extending it to paramedics is an important step in enhancing both community and hospital‑based newborn care. Our shared aim is to ensure every newborn receives timely, effective, lifesaving support.”
For paramedics, taking part provides valuable insight into how newborn emergencies are approached in specialist hospital settings. This, in turn, strengthens decision‑making during community call‑outs, particularly when caring for newborns who require urgent support before they can reach hospital.
Steve Myhre, Locality Clinical Manager for Watford Ambulance Station, said:
“We were delighted to be invited to the NLS course at Watford Hospital. Gaining insight into how neonatal teams approach resuscitation has been hugely beneficial. It deepened our understanding of the different clinical environments and reinforced the importance of working together across specialties.”
This collaboration represents a significant step towards more consistent, high‑quality emergency care for newborns across the region.
Dr Narayanan added:
“I’m incredibly proud of our partnership with the wider perinatal team and the East of England Ambulance Service. By expanding access to this training, we are building a wider network of skilled professionals committed to improving safety and outcomes for newborns, our most vulnerable patients.”