Latest news with #Leo'sNeonatal
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Lifeline' neonatal service in the North East is saved by new funding
A neonatal unit hailed as a 'lifeline' in the North East has been saved by new vital funding after facing an uncertain future due to financial difficulties. Leo's Neonatal, the only dedicated neonatal trauma support service in the region, has received backing from law firm Slater and Gordon. The Teesside-based charity, which supports the mental health and wellbeing of families affected by neonatal trauma, had been at risk of reducing its services due to a drop in funding and donations. (Image: LEO'S NEONATAL CHARITY) Founded in 2018, Leo's provides therapies such as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), trauma-focused talking therapies, Flash and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The charity has thousands of contacts with families across the North East each year and has seen increasing demand, with a 100 percent referral rate for mental health support from clinical staff. 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. (Image: LEO'S NEONATAL CHARITY) Leo's founder and CEO, Lottie King, said losing the trauma support service would have been devastating for parents facing grief and trauma. Lottie established the charity in memory of her son, Leo, who died shortly after birth in 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. 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 said: 'Our neonatal trauma service has proved a lifeline to so many parents and it would have been absolutely devastating if we had to close. '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." READ MORE: Fight for charity helping sick babies in North East UK's first Neonatal Mental Health Awareness Week launched by Leo's Baby's hearts to beat on forever with Leo's 'heartbeat bears' John Lowther, senior associate at Slater and Gordon in Newcastle, said: '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.'
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Life-changing' neonatal charity's services saved
A neonatal charity hailed as "life-changing" has had some of its services saved through new funding. Leo's, based in north-east England, supports families' mental health and well-being through initiatives such as neonatal peer support, which matches parents with people who have experienced similar trauma. It was facing an uncertain future because of fewer donations and grants. The charity has partnered with law firm Slater and Gordon, which has committed funding. Leo's founder Lottie King said: "If it hadn't have been for them, our whole neonatal provision would have gone." The money has saved the charity's neonatal peer support service. "Our neonatal trauma service has proved a lifeline to so many parents and it would have been absolutely devastating if we had to close," Ms King said. Ms King, who is from Yarm in Stockton, set up the charity in 2018 after one of her own twin boys was born prematurely and died a few hours after birth. The story of how Lottie King set up Leo's charity Since then, the charity has helped thousands of families across the region. Senior associate at Slater and Gordon in Newcastle John Lowther said the firm was "delighted" to partner with the organisation. "We are so pleased we can help them to continue their life-changing work," Mr Lowther added. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas here Mum celebrates son's legacy on his 10th birthday 'I owe my life' to funding-hit neonatal charity 'First time I saw my baby I said goodbye' Leo's Neonatal
