A doctor from the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow has been recognised with a prestigious award for her exceptional work in support of children’s health.
Dr Nashwa Matta, Associate Specialist in Neonatology and Neurodisability at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, is just one of three medical professionals in the UK to receive a new Members’ Award from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health for her work, which promotes the recognition of the signs of stress in newborns in intensive care units and understanding infant language through their behaviour.
Nashwa, 59, has been recognised for her revolutionary work in teaching, updating and adapting the Child in Mind programme, which teaches both medical professionals and parents about how they can spot signs of stress in babies in neonatal units and how they can help calm and reassure them.
Adapted over a 15 year period, Nashwa’s commitment to promoting the importance of mental wellbeing in infants undergoing intensive care treatment has led to an expansion of the Child in Mind programme beyond the Royal Hospital for Children to community based health care teams and wider regional services.
Nashwa, who received her award at a conference in Liverpool on Wednesday (June 29), said: “I felt overwhelmed after hearing I had been given this award from the RCPCH.
“It’s so important to promote spotting signs of stress in infants, and it’s important that we understand the babies, what they are feeling. Before I discovered the Child in Mind programme, I perhaps used to be too focused on the infant’s medical and physical needs, but the mental health of the babies is vital.
“I am so passionate about this work and teaching medical professionals and parents more about how to spot the signs of stress. I do a long term follow up, so you can see the difference in children who have had the psychosocial aspects of their needs addressed and those who haven’t had enough input from their carers . You cannot underestimate the role of the parent in intensive care with their babies, their presence is a buffer for the stress.”
While Nashwa is delighted to be recognised by the RCPCH for her commitment to her work, her focus has always been on the families she helps and extending the reach of Child in Mind. Because of Nashwa’s work, the programme is now delivered to each trainee neonatal nurse at the University of the West of Scotland, has been also adapted for post graduates and has been rolled out to those working in Paediatric Intensive Care Units.
Nashwa, from Glasgow, added: “I did this only for the babies and parents. I give talks to parents when children are going through neonatal intensive care, I look for signs of stress in the baby and explain these. We even teach them about how babies have a preference to parents’ voices and promote looking at behaviours and the environment to help understand babies better.
“I have had extremely helpful feedback, the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Infant mental health group have been brilliant. We have people from specialist areas feeding into that group to give a well-rounded perspective, so many staff are interested in looking at the psychosocial aspect of the infant needs.
“From talks with parents they tell me they instantly see the benefits. I remember a mother commenting on the informational video I record for parents. She told me she thought that ‘every mother should see this when they come to intensive care’ as it gave her a deeper understanding. The feedback given is all very positive.”
Jamie Redfern, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Director of Women’s and Children’s Services, said: “We are so proud of Nashwa and I’m thrilled to see her incredible work with infants recognised by the RCPCH with this prestigious award, congratulations Nashwa.
“Our dedicated staff at the Royal Hospital for Children work tirelessly to provide the highest standard of care to our patients and their families and Nashwa is a shining example of this”.
