Brighter Futures has launched a massive appeal to bring state-of-the-art neonatal incubators to the Great Western Hospital. Families gathered at the hospital’s Academy on Tuesday to learn about the drive to improve neonatal care for babies born prematurely.

The NHS charity is looking to fundraise £175,000 to replace a stock of old incubators with 5 brand new machines at the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU), which will help the hospital to provide care for more than 450 babies a year.

Catherine Newman, Head of Brighter Futures, said: “We’re delighted to be launching a new project at the special care baby unit here at the hospital.”

She invited parents to inspect the new model incubator by the front of the stage. “This is the new machine we want. It’s an amazing bit of kit – technology has come on leaps and bounds over the years and that really will make a difference to our tiniest patients,” she said.

“We’ve been joined tonight by many of those who were born so tiny that have grown so big now. The world is their oyster now, and there is nothing stopping them.”

The new technology will allow families to get closer to their babies without compromising on baby safety or comfort. Automatic lids and side panels on the machine can slide up and down while heated mattresses keep the babies warm. A stabilised incubator environment with fine-tuned noise and light levels is restored as soon as the automatic lid is returned to its closed position.

Sarah Bates, the lead clinician for the Incubator Appeal project, informed families of the benefits: “Because of what we showed you, the way this opens up and goes very low, you’ll actually be able to touch your baby and cuddle the whole baby, and for me that’s one of the big, powerful points of this incubator.”

Older units only allowed parents to access their babies through a small, hand-sized porthole.

One such parent was Sophie Cooke, who had two daughters treated at the special care unit. She lent her support to the appeal on Tuesday.

“Having two children stay in SCBU is without doubt the hardest, most painful thing I’ve ever had to endure,” she said. “I still can’t walk past the door to SCBU without my breath catching in my throat,” she said. “Words cannot express how grateful we are to everyone in SCBU. We will be forever in your debt.”

Sophie’s child Lydia ran merrily around on the stage as her mother shared her story. Mrs Cooke said: “As you can see, it hasn’t held her back.”

A family-centred approach to care that prioritises baby contact has been shown to lead to better developmental outcomes for babies. Modern incubators can help to reduce rates of infection and shorten lengths of stay in hospital.

One special feature of the new incubator enables parents to play music tracks to their babies. In one suggested use of the feature, a mother could sooth her newborn child with a recording of her own voice, strengthening maternal feelings of attachment.

Trevor Goodall, founder of New Life charity, announced his backing of the appeal at the event. Trevor established New Life in 1995 in memory of his sons who were born three months prematurely and died a week later. To date, his charity has raised £600,000 for new hospital equipment, and he will be working closely with Brighter Futures to usher in new incubators at the Great Western Hospital.

He said: “We hold events, we climb mountains, we do silly things which usually end up with me getting tired and worn out. But it’s very nice that people like Sarah and Catherine are supporting it this year and they actually take part in some of these events. We all get stuck in together.”

For more information about the SCBU Incubator Appeal, visit the Brighter Futures website.