By Fiona Metcalfe, Lead nurse for neonatal surgery at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and former Chair, National Neonatal Surgical Special Interest Group
In September, I had the privilege of chairing a multidisciplinary workshop at the BAPM Conference in Nottingham. I was there both as a representative of the Neonatal Surgical Special Interest Group (NNSiG), part of the NNA, and in my capacity as Lead Nurse for Neonatal Surgery at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
The workshop focused on the transition of babies from neonatal units to paediatric wards or local district general hospitals. Using a complex surgical neonatal case study, we explored the challenges and opportunities involved, alongside parental feedback and examples of best practice.
The experience was both professionally rewarding and personally inspiring.
Although I was asked to chair the workshop, it was very much a collaborative effort. Our planning group included nurses, pharmacists and dietitians from across the UK, all bringing different perspectives and expertise. We met regularly via Microsoft Teams, shared resources through the Future NHS platform and communicated frequently by email.
Like many multidisciplinary projects, we all started with different ideas, but by focusing on shared priorities we developed a workshop that reflected the strengths of every profession involved.
One of the most valuable aspects of the planning process was engaging with Bliss and parent advisory groups.
Listening to families’ experiences helped ensure that the parent voice remained central to the workshop. It reminded us that transfer is not simply a logistical process. For families, it can be an emotional transition involving uncertainty, changing expectations and loss of familiar support networks.
These insights shaped many of our discussions and reinforced the importance of family-centred care.
The workshop also provided an opportunity to promote the BAPM Transfer to Paediatrics Framework, which recognises transition as a planned process requiring collaboration between neonatal, paediatric and specialist teams, with families as partners in care.
Delegates discussed barriers to successful transfers, shared examples of local innovation and considered how earlier multidisciplinary involvement could improve experiences for babies, families and staff.
Personally, I learned a great deal from colleagues who had previous experience of organising national workshops. Their support meant I never felt the responsibility rested solely with me. Instead, I experienced what effective multidisciplinary working looks like in practice: shared leadership, mutual respect and a collective commitment to improving care. The workshop reinforced that some of the best ideas emerge when different professions come together with a common purpose.
I am grateful to BAPM for supporting our group with travel funding and conference access, enabling us to participate fully in the wider conference programme. Most importantly, the experience highlighted the significant contribution nurses and allied health professionals make throughout the patient pathway. We are often the professionals’ connecting services, supporting families and driving improvements in patient experience.
For any nurse considering involvement in specialist interest groups, national projects or conferences, I would strongly encourage it. Opportunities like this allow you to develop new skills, build professional networks and contribute to improving care on a wider scale.
I left the conference with new knowledge, new connections and a renewed appreciation of the value nurses and allied health professionals bring to multidisciplinary care. Most importantly, I left proud to have been part of a team working to improve transitions for babies and families across the UK.
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