Natty knitters needed

In July 2018, we asked colleagues to help provide the NHS with as many ‘traffic light hats’ as they could muster to help midwives across the country keep premature and newborn babies out of special care.

The ‘Bobble hat care bundle’ initiative was launched by the NHS in a bid to cut unnecessary special care baby unit (SCBU) admissions as too many babies were being admitted to SCBU units after becoming cold.

Hospitals across the country introduced a traffic light-themed system to assist midwives in ensuring that babies and new mothers are best supported in the first few days of life. The hats, made from soft baby wool are red, amber or green:

• Red hats are for babies who are more at risk, potentially because of infection and as such need more regular neonatal observations
• Amber hats are for babies who may require a little more attention because they were born prematurely or with a low birth weight. These babies may need a little extra help with feeding or keeping warm
• Green hats are for lower risk babies who require routine observations.

When we asked all you knowledgeable knitters to step up and send your creations to charity and community champion, Tim Hyde at Medway Mail Centre, the response was nothing short of yarntastic!

Crocheting colleagues from Stoke, Belfast, Bedford, Nottingham, Borden, Chelmsford, Bletchley, Leeds and Warrington to name just a few, got busy getting their knits out and showing off their purling prowess to produce bottomless bundles of woolly wonders.

We were beyond impressed with the 350+ hats the stellar stitchers at Stoke MDEC sent Tim earlier this year. However, a new magnificent milestone has just been reached by the delightful darners at Leeds Mail Centre, who have now produced a staggering 25,000+ hats for the campaign. Put simply, we have no words.

‘The Leeds Mail Centre knitters are amazing,’ said Tim. ‘This truly inspiring team have been celebrating their huge milestone in their support for the traffic light baby hats campaign, with a commemorative cake.

‘To date, the team in Leeds have been the biggest contributors to this national initiative, providing more than 60% of the hats that we’ve sent to maternity units up and down the country to keep the youngest in our communities warm and help midwives identify the needs of every child.

‘The team, led by Paul Wilson in the taxing office, have been the most consistent and reliable of our knitters. This has been a real team effort with staff, managers and local community groups all pitching in.’

If you would like to help keep someone’s little one warm, click here to download your baby hat crochet instructions, courtesy of automation engineer, Siobhan Burns, from Chelmsford Mail Centre.

Please send your hats to Tim Hyde at the below address:

Medway Mail Centre
Knight Road
Strood, Kent
ME2 2EE 

You can also download our baby hat posters by clicking here. Please print them off and display them in your units. Thank you for your help. No baby should be going to special care because they are cold.

Pictured: OPG, Alan Smith and late parcel manager, Mark Creasey.