Specialist neonatal trauma support service secures its future through new funding

Leo’s Neonatal delivers a range of therapies and services to support the mental health and wellbeing of families, with demand continuing to grow for interventions for mothers, fathers and children.

The charity, founded in 2018, has thousands of contacts with families across the North East each year, and now has a 100 per cent referral rate for mental health support from clinical staff, such is the impact of its work.

However, due to a drop in funding and donations, Leo’s was forced to consider the future of some of its services – including its neonatal trauma support, which is the only dedicated service of its kind in the region, offering specialist lived experience mentoring and targeted trauma interventions such as EMDR, trauma-focused talking therapies, Flash and CBT.

Now, law firm Slater and Gordon has partnered with Leo’s – which received a Points of Light award from then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson for its life-changing impact – to deliver the funding to enable its specialist support for families in need to continue.

Lottie King, CEO of Leo’s Neonatal, founded the pioneering charity in memory of her son Leo, who died at only four hours old after being born at 25 weeks in January 2015. His twin, Oska, was in the Special Care Baby Unit at North Tees Hospital for over 100 days after being born four days later.

“Our neonatal trauma service has proved a lifeline to so many parents and it would have been absolutely devastating if we had to close,” says Lottie.

“The need for specialist support for neonatal parents who have been impacted by grief and trauma is massive and increasing all the time, and it doesn’t bear thinking about if we had to turn them away. In addition to the huge pressure on NHS resources and long waiting lists for mental health support, there is no guarantee parents affected by neonatal trauma will be able to see a specialist – and at Leo’s, our team know through their own lived experience how vital it is that specialist support is available.

“We are absolutely over the moon to have secured this partnership with Slater and Gordon and that we can continue to deliver this much-needed service to parents right across the North East.”

John Lowther, senior associate at Slater and Gordon in Newcastle, says: “Leo’s Neonatal has supported countless families across our region during some of their darkest days, and demand for their services is growing all the time. This charity was born out of lived experience and has identified a range of areas in which specialist therapies, support and interventions can positively impact the lives of parents and children at times when they need it most.

“We are really delighted to partner with Lottie and her amazing team, and to be able to give our backing to the dedicated neonatal trauma support service, which we know plays such a critical role in the mental health of so many parents. Knowing the impact of this service, and the growing demand Leo’s faces to deliver it, its closure is unthinkable. We are so pleased we can help them to continue their life-changing work.”