Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU)

We are a Level 1 unit providing special care for babies at Conquest Hospital.

We provide care for babies needing extra help and support, based on a family centered approach.

There are many different needs for babies admitted to the SCBU. When your baby is admitted, you will have many questions, and our team will support you and encourage you to be involved in your baby’s care.

For more information on sick and pre-term babies please use the links below which offer support and additional information.

Virtual tour of our unit

We understand that having your baby being cared for on SCBU can be a stressful time for parents and families. If your baby is going to be or has been admitted onto SCBU, or if you are coming to visit a baby on SCBU, you may find it helpful to familiarise yourself in advance with where the unit is and how to get there.

The Neonatal Network for Kent, Surrey and Sussex recently completed a video tour (below) of how to get to our SCBU, the facilities available on the unit and other helpful information. Press the play button in the bottom left to see a walkthrough from our front door to and then around the unit, or click on one of the other icons to explore specific areas of the tour directly.

Trigger warning

If you are a parent or carer and wish to use our virtual tour to explore our unit, please make sure you are in a safe space and feel emotionally ready to revisit the unit. Some parents have told us that revisiting the unit, even years after your baby was cared for by the SCBU team, can bring back emotional memories, so please take care.

Access to the unit

Mothers who are on the Buchanan Delivery suite or Frank Shaw Ward have direct access to the unit, at any time. Fathers and other visitors should enter the hospital via the main entrance on Level 3, and go down to Level 1 where the unit is located, and use the bell located outside SCBU. Please note the exit by the delivery suite is for Emergency use only.

Admission to the unit

When your baby is admitted to Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) this can be a very stressful time. We are here to support you and keep you informed about your babies care.

Nurses, doctors and other colleagues will be initiating the care your baby receives. We will always encourage parents to have an active role in their baby’s care. Your baby will receive care tailored to their individual needs and requirements. While your baby is in SCBU they will have routine tests and procedures, also national routine screening.

We have two rooms available for parents to use, near to the time of discharge. We also have parent friendly packs of toiletries available on request.

Sibling packs are also available on request.

The team

The SCBU team is made up of consultants, doctors, ward matron, sisters, nurses, nursery nurses, administrator and housekeepers:

  • Ward Matron: Purple uniform
  • Neonatal Sisters: Navy Blue uniform
  • Staff Nurses: Light Blue uniform
  • Nursery Nurses: Very pale blue uniform
  • Housekeeper
  • Administrator

Visiting information

Parents are welcome on SCBU at any time. Grandparents and siblings welcome 8am to 1pm, and then 3pm to 8pm

There is a limit of two people per cot, one of which must be a parent. No children under the age of 16 are allowed unless they are the baby’s sibling. Anybody with coughs, colds or other illnesses should not visit SCBU.

Contact us

Special Care Baby Unit
Conquest Hospital,
The Ridge,
St Leonards-on-Sea
East Sussex, TN37 7RD
Tel: 0300 131 5235

Parking

Visitors can use either of the public car parks but there are parking charges. Parents can apply for a parking permit, which allows free parking during babies hospital stay. Please ask any member of the nursing team for details.