Muscat Private Hospital's new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) began operations on Sunday.
The unit is equipped with four cots and has a working staff of eight nurses and three paediatricians. It will look after newborns and premature babies requiring medical and nursing care.
The NICU will handle cases of birth at a gestational age of less than 37 weeks and more than 32 weeks, low birth weight, birth defects, respiratory distress, infection, seizures, hypoglycaemia, need for extra oxygen or monitoring intravenous therapy, as well as special treatment or procedures such as blood transfusions.
"The major concern that mothers had at the time of delivery was taking care of the baby, especially if it was born prematurely. We used to transfer such cases to one of the government hospitals, but now we can take care of them at the NICU here," said Murat Soner Kucukkaya, hospital administrator at Muscat Private Hospital.
The medical specialists and nursing staff will be supported by a team of pharmacists, dietitians, physiotherapists and radiographers.
© Muscat Daily 2012
