Sunshine Hospital has Victoria's largest Level II Special Care Nursery (SCN).
Infants greater than 32 weeks gestation are admitted to the nursery from Birthing, Maternity, Theatre and the Emergency Department. Neonates are also transferred in from other hospitals in Victoria.
We provide:·
Care for sick babies and premature babies born after 32 weeks gestation.
Stabilisation and transfer of babies born before 32 weeks or requiring significant support to a hospital that will provide the higher level of care these babies require.
Antenatal consultation with a Neonatologist for women whose babies have been identified during pregnancy as having conditions that may require specialist management during or soon after birth. A Neonatologist is a doctor that specialises in the care of newborn babies.
Attendance of a Neonatologist at high risk births.
Assessment of babies in the hospital's maternity wards.
Follow-up clinics for babies who have experienced problems in the newborn period.
Non-invasive respiratory support in the form of CPAP or nasal prong oxygen.
Comfort care for babies undergoing treatment for drug withdrawal. We value the support of our Volunteers who are trained to support the mothers, babies and families through this Program.
Lactation support is available in the SCN from a Lactation Consultant (LC) on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The SCN staff are provided with resources and training to assist mothers who wish to breastfeed their babies. Further breastfeeding support is available from the Domiciliary and Midwifery Group Practice (Caseload) midwives and the Sunshine Hospital Breastfeeding Support Service.
Physiotherapy, speech pathology and dietetics support.
Social Work
- Hospital In The Home
The Special Care Nursery (SCN) at Sunshine Hospital is currently a 21 cot high dependency level II unit. It has the capacity, with funding, to become a 26 cot Unit. In 2012 there were 947 neonatal admissions to our SCN.
Visiting Hours
Visiting hours are from 8.00am – 12.00pm and 2.00pm – 8.00pm
12.00pm – 2.00pm is quiet time
The lights are low and we encourage minimal handling unless breast feeding· Parents may visit at anytime with siblings
2 visitors at a time with the parents
Visitors must be with one of the parents unless they are on the baby's unaccompanied visitors list
No children under 12 may visit unless they are the baby's sibling(s)
Contact us:
Phone: (03) 9055 2500
