Charity: NHS cuts putting vulnerable babies at risk

More than half of England's specialist baby care units do not meet the government's minimum standards and are putting the most vulnerable babies at risk, a charity warned on Monday, this was published at UK dailly '' the Guardian''. Bliss, a special care baby charity, said staff cuts in a third of England's 172 neonatal units were "significantly affecting the care of premature and sick babies". Minimum standards set by the Department of Health require 70% of nurses and midwives in neonatal units to be qualified in specialist care, Bliss said, but more than half had failed to meet this target. Last year, the charity said 1,150 extra nurses would be needed to reach minimum standards, but a recent freedom of information request by the charity found 140 posts had been cut. In addition, it said that while 450 nurses needed to receive extra training to meet the department's standards, one in 10 units said they were struggling to release staff for training because of budget cuts.