Thanks to your incredible feedback and overwhelming demand, we’re thrilled to announce that Tiny Lives is adding more groups in new locations to accommodate more neonatal parents and babies!
Your feedback has been invaluable in shaping our classes, ensuring they meet the needs of parents and babies who have spent time on the neonatal unit. With the new classes, we’re coming to more locations, making it easier for families to connect with other parents on similar journeys.
We can continue to offer these classes, free of charge to neonatal families, thanks to the amazing support and fundraising we receive from our supporters.
Booking will be opening on 28th March – please look out for:
Our lovely supporter Sue has kindly made an Easter Hamper for us to raffle, so we can continue our support to the families and babies going through their Neonatal Journey.
The contents of the hamper are below…
Milky Bar Eggs, Malteser Mini Bunnies, Choc Orange Eggs, Mini Cream Eggs, Smartie Mini Eggs, Choc Buttons, Choc Orange, Choc Mint, and of course an Easter bunny!
If you would like to try your luck and win this lovely hamper while supporting Tiny Lives, please click here, suggested donation of £5 or you can chose your own amount to donate 🙂
Please note that the lucky winner will need to collect the prize from the Tiny Lives office.
Dr Janet Berrington and her team are looking for parental input for a new study that is looking at reducing breathing problems after discharge in preterm babies. The study has funding from the NHS and is currently being set up. Parent views are essential to help the team plan and deliver the study in the best way for families. They are looking for parents who can join meetings online, and they expect to be able to offer re-imbursement for their time. If you think you can help or would like to know more please contact Dr Janet Berrington at the RVI janet.berrington1@nhs.net
iamproperty have selected Tiny Lives as their charity of the year for a third consecutive year!
They have raised over £30,000 in the past two years and cannot wait to partner with them again!
Supporting Tiny Lives over a long period of time allows iamproperty see the wonderful impact their kind donations make to our neonatal families! In 2022, they funded Miniboos and in 2023 funded additional hours of social care! We’ve also had lovely members of staff volunteering in our offices including wrapping the neonatal families Christmas gifts!
We’ve loved getting to know this wonderful team and look forward to working with them in 2024!
If your business would like to work with and support Tiny Lives, please email Rachel Hardwick at rachel@tinylives.org.uk
• Could your company or employer partner with a local charity that supports babies and families from across the North East and North Cumbria?
• Does your company or employer want to make a real difference to local lives?
We are calling all corporate superheroes to select Tiny Lives as your Charity of the Year. Imagine the incredible impact we could make together to support neonatal babies and their families!
We have worked with companies of all different shapes and sizes and corporate support looks different for everyone; fundraising, volunteering, gifts in kind, opening doors or providing a platform. We would love to chat about what a Charity of the Year partnership could look like for the company you work at. So, get in touch with rachel@tinylives.org.uk and let’s start the conversation!
We have a number of support groups and classes for Neonatal Parents and we understand it can be both overwhelming and confusing to identify which classes/groups best suit your needs. We’ve put together a flowchart to help you better identify which group/class is best for you and your baby.
Meet, Chat, Learn Classes Our Meet, Chat, Learn Classes are open exclusively to families from Ward 35 and range from Baby Yoga and Massage to Music, Movement and Sensory. They are free-of-charge and the perfect way to bond with your baby and meet Neonatal parents in a supportive environment.
Stay and Play We know how hard it is for new parents who have left Ward 35 being unable to meet up face-to-face with other parents who understand the neonatal experience. Our Stay and Play sessions take place on a monthly basis at the Alan Shearer Centre. These sessions take place on a Saturday morning and provide an opportunity for parents to meet other parents who share their experience and meet with Tiny Lives staff and peer supporters in a relaxed and friendly environment while the little ones play.
Stay and Splash We know how hard it is for new parents who have left Ward 35 being unable to meet up face-to-face with other parents who understand the neonatal experience. Our Stay and Splash sessions take place on a monthly basis at Paddlepod Whitley Bay. These sessions take place on a Sunday afternoon and provide an opportunity for parents to meet other parents who share their experience and meet with Tiny Lives staff and peer supporters. We have access to the pool, play area and cafe.
Bubbles The Bubbles Group is a support and developmental group facilitated by the Newcastle Community Nursing Team and Newcastle 0-19 Service for parents whose babies have been discharged from Ward 35 at the RVI. They’re supported by Tiny Lives and host face-to-face baby and parents sessions for parents to drop in, chat and ask questions. Face to face sessions are split into 2 age groups, Under 1’s and Over 1s to Walking Independently to match appropriate activities.
Mams Chat & Dads Team Both Mams Chat & the SCBU Dads Team are made up of parents with lived experience of having a baby on Ward 35. The experience for Dads and Mams is often very different and both groups are available to offer support and lend an ear. You can access the WhatsApp group for both of our support groups or contact them directly via email.
The Tiny Lives Ball is a great evening of fundraising including both a raffle and auction with some great prizes to be won. This year, our host was the always wonderful Pete Graves!
The evening started with a sparkling drinks reception, followed by a three course meal and throughout the evening guests were entertained with the return of everyone’s favourite, the ‘Flag Fiesta’ where everyone’s guaranteed a win, a photobooth and other fun for all.
Please remember Tiny Lives is an independent, local charity supporting premature and sick newborn babies and their families, who have experienced life in the Neonatal Unit at the RVI in Newcastle. We can only do this because of our wonderful supporters.
We’d also like to say a HUGE thank you Toni and Kris for their wonderful photography skills! Toni and Kris captured all images on the evening and we can’t thank them enough for documenting the evening.
Our 2023 Sponsors
Tiny Lives Ball Gallery
Click on the images to download a high resolution image.
EE Tyneside have embarked on an epic challenge over the last eight weeks! The team have put an astonishing effort into fundraising coming up with some super creative ways to raise money. Events included sea dips, football tournaments, cake sales, rounders, head shaves, VintEEd (vinted inspired clothes sales) tombolas, ice bucket challenges and even more!
We’d like to say a huge thank you to Alix Burke for nominating Tiny Lives for the eight weeks of fundraising. Alix’s twins Chase and Tatum (featured in the photo!) spent time on the unit and so did her six year old Frankie!
We’d also like to mention Chloe Weston, Janine Peake, and Chloe Burns for their wonderful efforts.
Rachel Hardwick, our Funding and Partnerships Officer said ‘The amount EE have raised in eight weeks is astonishing. The efforts their team have gone to to raise vital funds for Tiny Lives is incredible and we can’t thank everyone enough for fundraising for Tiny Lives.’
Tiny Lives would like to wish Pat Dulson a very happy retirement (we’ll miss her lots!). Many of you will have met Pat during your time on the unit. Her knowledge, expertise and kindness shone through everyday and her commitment to supporting Neonatal Families made her such a beloved member of staff. We know we aren’t the only ones who will miss seeing Pat’s lovely face on the unit but we hope she enjoys her well deserved retirement!
Patricia Dulson, Clinical Specialist Neonatal Physiotherapist has retired from her current role at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Pat came to Newcastle to train as a Physiotherapist in 1979 and started work at Newcastle General Hospital in January 1983. Pat has had a long career within the Paediatric Physiotherapy Team and in the last 20 years has worked within neonatal care as a neonatal specialist physiotherapist. Pat retires after 40 years’ service for the NHS.
Pat was one of the country’s first specialist Neonatal Physiotherapists, having been funded by the Tiny Lives Trust to develop Developmental Care and Neonatal Follow-up Services at the Newcastle Neonatal Service. Her exemplary knowledge, experience and expertise has been the cornerstone of excellence in Neonatal Physiotherapy and Neonatal Care locally, regionally (within the Northern Neonatal Network) and nationally.
Locally, in Newcastle Pat used her clinical skill and passion for supporting babies and families to develop developmental care guidelines and support the implementation of these practises within the Newcastle Neonatal Service. This is included Tiny Lives funding developmental care aids and environmental improvement for babies and their families (such as incubator covers for light protection and sound monitors for sound protection), positioning aids (such as Claire’s Nests) and Miniboos. Pat also designed and delivered the Developmental Care Teaching for health care professionals working in Neonatal Care.
Pat, along with her consultant colleague Dr David Milligan, recognised that babies who had been born very prematurely or those who had suffered brain injury at birth often went on to have difficulties with movement development and learning after discharge home. Together, they developed one of the first neonatal follow-up services in the UK and offered specialist multidisciplinary clinics to infants (and their families) most at risk of neurodevelopmental difficulties allowing infants to be monitored over time and receive early intervention.
Clinically, Pat has continually sought to develop her own clinical skills, keeping up to date with evidence-based care. She developed the Neonatal Follow-up service, setting up one of the first Physiotherapy led General Movements Assessment service within the UK. More recently, Pat was a pioneer with implementing the Tiny Lives funded vCreate secure video technology for healthcare transformation with neonatal follow-up (in Newcastle and the Northern Neonatal Network). This service allowed families to upload videos of their baby’s movement development for virtual interaction with specialist clinicians. This service was expediated by the need for virtual access to healthcare during Covid-19 pandemic.
Pat has always been very generous with her time and clinical expertise. This was highlighted when she developed the Neonatal Developmental Care Guidelines for the Northern Neonatal Network in 2014. The development of these guidelines led to Pat working with the FINE (Family and Infant Neurodevelopmental Education) team to deliver the first Foundation toolkit for Family Centred Developmental Care to staff working within the Northern Neonatal Network. The network continues to fund Annual FINE course training.
Pat was the founding member of the Northern Neonatal Network Allied Health Professional Peer Support Group. Pat started this group to support acute and community-based physiotherapists working with babies and families who had experienced neonatal care. In addition, Pat used this forum to co-ordinate and offer education for therapists interested in working within neonatal care. Pat also founded the Northern Neonatal Network General Movements Assessment Peer Support Group. The General Movements Assessment is a highly evidenced based assessment to identify infants at high risk of cerebral palsy.
Pat was an active member of APCP Neonatal Committee between 2008-2014, developing guidelines, forming relationships with wider Neonatal National Groups (such as British Association of Perinatal Medicine). Pat has always been happy to share her skills and expertise and contributing to the development of APCP Neonatal Physiotherapy guidelines and Neonatal AHP Conferences. The APCP Executive Committee have awarded Pat an APCP gold award for services to neonatal physiotherapy that she was presented with today.
Pat has been an active supporter of research in neonatal care and neonatal physiotherapy. Pat was involved in data collection using Bayleys Assessments of Preterm Infants for EPICure studies, development of E-Tips intervention for infants suffering from perinatal stroke and research into Lacey Assessment of Preterm Infants, General Movements Assessment and outcomes for baby’s born preterm. Pat’s contribution to research is highlighted by her research publications.
Pat continues her support for improving neonatal care by participating as a board member of the Tiny Lives Trust.
If you’re interested in running the Great North Run in aid of Tiny Lives next year (September 2024!), please fill in our expression of interest form below.
Please note we may not be able to allocate you a GNR charity place. Successful runners will need to pay the GNR Registration Fee to confirm their place.
We ask all interested runners to also enter the Great North Run general ballot when this opens in January 2024. By doing this you are kindly giving as many interested runners as possible the opportunity to experience the Great North Run and raise valuable funds to help Tiny Lives support neonatal families!
We will bring you an update on our 2023 Great North Runners very soon!
