Newborn babies are being kept warm thanks to the thousands of volunteers who have knitted hats for them this winter, which are colour coded to show the care they need.
Royal United Hospital (RUH), in Bath, launched an appeal in October 2017 for people to help knit around 5,000 tiny bobble hats for babies at the Bath Birthing Centre.
The hospital has introduced a traffic light, colour-coded system of green, amber and red bobble hats to provide a visual aid for the level of care a baby may need.
Since then, thousands of hats have been sent from all over the world - with knitters from age nine to 94 and from 159 different locations including America, Portugal, Spain, UK and Ireland.
Rachel Coleman, practice development sister at the hospital, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the number of people from around the world who’ve taken the time to get knitting.”
A green bobble means the baby is term, warm and feeding well. An amber bobble indicates a baby needs a little more help with feeding and keeping warm, and a red bobble indicates a baby will have regular observations by a nurse or midwife.
Coleman continued: “The response has been incredible – every spare space we had is now filled with bags of hats.
“We can’t reply to everyone personally, but a big thank you to everyone who’s sent us hats.
“Babies will still receive traditional midwifery care, but this is an extra visual aid.”
“The hats will make a real difference in further improving the quality of care we provide and we are extremely grateful for every hat donated,” added Coleman.
Despite the huge response, the team at RUH said they “still need more” hats, adding: “With 5,000 babies a year being born at the RUH there’s a never-ending demand for knitting aid.”
If you would like to join the knitting brigade, you can follow the pattern and send your hats to The Bath Birthing Centre, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Combe Park, Bath BA1 3NG.
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