Tiny Lives Trust, a charity dedicated to supporting premature and sick newborn babies, has announced its new five-year strategy allowing the team to help even more families during the most difficult times across the North East and North Cumbria.  

The strategy, which is the result of months of collaboration and consultation with families, supporters, staff, and board members, outlines three key impact goals for the coming five years. These goals include a focus on supporting babies and families to flourish during the first 1,001 days and beyond, ensuring that babies and families with experience of neonatal care are understood and supported by those providing services, and championing neonatal care as a key driver of positive health and social outcomes in the North East and North Cumbria. 

Every year one in seven babies will spend time in neonatal care and in the North East alone, 190,000 babies, children, and young people across the North East live below the poverty line. 

Kelly Blakeney, Chief Executive Officer at Tiny Lives Trust said, “Recently Tiny Lives celebrated our 10th anniversary as an independent charity and over this time we have helped thousands of families during the most difficult of times. 

“Today we are launching our new five-year strategy that will allow us to give even more sick and premature babies in the North East and North Cumbria the best possible opportunity to thrive.  Families are at the heart of everything that we do and our future focus will see us deepening our relationship with the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) hospital, as well as working to support even more families, including those families who are currently underrepresented within our service. The first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, are fundamental to a child’s lifelong emotional and physical wellbeing and we want to play a defining role in supporting premature and sick newborn babies and their families during this critical period. 

“Our heartland is the Newcastle Neonatal Service at the RVI in Newcastle Upon Tyne. As a regional centre of excellence, the RVI plays a unique role in caring for babies with the most complex needs. Over time, the RVI’s reach has extended across the North East and North Cumbria, allowing us to expand our services and support more families. Wider developments across maternity services have also provided an important policy focus.

Yet we know we can go further to support families cared for at the Newcastle Neonatal Service. We also know that many more families across the North East and North Cumbria need support throughout their neonatal journey.

This strategy is the result of months of collaboration and consultation with families, supporters, staff, and board members and reflects what we want to achieve, how we will prioritise our activities and resources, and how we will know if it’s working.” 

With eight out of the 10 local authorities in the UK with the highest rates of child poverty in the North East and Cumbria, the support that Tiny Lives Trust provides to families spending time on the neonatal ward is needed more than ever. 

Download the Tiny Lives Trust five-year strategy https://www.tinylives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Tiny-Lives-Strategy_FINAL-Compressed.pdf 

Watch a video from the charity discussing the need for this revived focus here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CURmegkD6ko