Workload and costs associated with providing a neonatal surgery service

Area of Science:

• Neonatal surgery
• Healthcare service provision
• Pediatric surgical care

Background:

• Neonatal surgical services are critical but resource-intensive.
• Accurate workload and cost data are essential for effective service commissioning.
• UK neonatal networks require standardized data for planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the workload associated with providing neonatal surgical services within a UK neonatal network.
• To inform local and national commissioning decisions for neonatal surgical care.
• To establish benchmarks for cot provision and associated costs.

Main Methods:

• Prospective analysis of neonatal surgical admissions over five years in a level 3 perinatal centre.
• Assessment of daily patient dependency over six months.
• Calculation of service costs using established local tariffs.

Main Results:

• Average of 140 admissions annually, requiring 2137 cot-days.
• Estimated national requirement of one neonatal surgical cot per 5,000 births at 80% occupancy.
• Annual service cost estimated at £2 million, or £250,000 per 5,000 births.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a robust assessment of facilities and costs for UK neonatal surgical services.
• Data can inform evidence-based commissioning at both network and national levels.
• Highlights the significant resource allocation required for specialized neonatal surgical care.