A parent whose son spent roughly 100 days being cared for by the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, is supporting other parents to share similar experiences.
Nick Todd, manager at Squire’s Garden Centre in Chertsey, is working with Little Roo Neonatal Fund to host monthly coffee mornings that bring families together in the garden centre café bar to chat about their experiences on, and after, NICU.
Nick’s son, Austin, was cared for by the team in 2019 after being born at 26 weeks and Nick wanted to support Little Roo.
Shortly after Nick moved to Squire’s in Chertsey, the opportunity came to select the garden centre’s charity of the year. With the centre keen to support Little Roo, the charitable fund was chosen as charity of the year for a second year running.
Nick said: “I met Sid Hurry, charity manager for Little Roo, to discuss what we could do to support them, not only to raise funds, but to raise awareness of the charity and the support it needs. It was then that Sid mentioned about running an offsite coffee morning.
“I can offer a safe space for families to come and discuss their experiences with those who have been through something similar. I also have that experience, so I could be a helping hand and offer my support.
“The unit can be a loud and scary place and coming away from that for a short period of time can be really beneficial.”
The coffee mornings are held from 11am to noon on the last Thursday of each month in the Chertsey branch café bar. They are open to all families past and present whose baby or babies have been or are being cared for on the neonatal unit.
To learn more about Little Roo, visit www.ashfordstpeters.nhs.uk/littleroo