By supporting our virtual Buy a ‘Baby’ Brick you will receive a ‘Baby’ Brick certificate, together with an acknowledgement within the design of the new NICU. This is also your chance to become part of the campaign to build the first NICU of its kind in the UK.

For just £10 you can Buy a ‘Baby’ Brick and help build a new sustainable Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for the Royal United Hospital in Bath. This will provide our babies with essential ‘space to grow’ and give them the very best start in life!

Buy a ‘Baby’ Brick now – click here

For the NICU at the Royal United Hospital, this is only part of the story, which is why the ForeverTJ Tribute Fund, in partnership with The Forever Friends Appeal is raising £4.7 million towards a new NICU that will be the first of a new generation of therapeutic healthcare buildings.

As in previous years, James will be raising money for the  ForeverTJ Tribute Fund, and hopes to raise a minimum of £5,000 on the day for the charity.

Details about how to sponsor James will be avaialble soon.

As an architect it is a project which makes you want to “get out of the bed in the morning”; to create a facility which we hope will have a real influence and improve the outcomes for vulnerable babies, their parents and the
amazing staff who look after them.

The current assessment of the existing NICU is that it is not fit for purpose either in terms of the quantum or quality of space. Staff, patients and parents coexist in cramped, inefficiently laid out and poorly lit conditions.

Options were considered for various locations for a new NICU as part of an overall business case including both complete new-build and extension to the existing facility. The ability to connect directly to the Delivery Suite within
the Princess Anne Wing was a fix in all options considered.

The proposal consists of a single storey new-build extension, and the refurbishment of the space occupied by the existing NICU facility. The newbuild element accommodates the clinical, support and reception functions as a discreet but contemporary intervention between the Princess Anne Wing and the Wolfeson building. The refurbished element comprises staff and parents’ facilities. The two elements are linked by a new ‘umbilicus’ which also provides an access point for emergency vehicles. The new building encloses an external courtyard space which provides both vista and breakout from reception and parents areas.

Produced by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

Separation of the new build element from the existing will allow it to be completed with minimum disruption to the life of the existing NICU. On completion, occupation of the new building will free the existing area for refurbishment.

It is proposed that the new-build is built onto the existing north / south circulation corridor between the Princess Anne Wing and the RUH. The existing, sub-standard staff changing facilities in this location would be demolished and relocated elsewhere.

The layout proposed for the new NICU is clear and logical. It is clearly zoned for the different functions accommodated as shown on the plan diagram. The zones define clear divisions for infection control and access.

The occasion was marked with the unveiling of the new NICU ’space to grow’ Campaign signage above the entrance of the Princess Anne Wing and the release of 500 ‘green’ balloons to symbolise the sustainable part of the build planned to improve facilities for the 500 babies who depend on the care and treatment of the unit each year.

Click here for further information.