For Kier Senior Site Manager Steve Bromfield, walking his 17-year-old daughter Freya through the brand-new Special Care Baby Unit at Luton and Dunstable Hospital is a surreal, full circle moment. Freya, wearing a hard hat and hi-vis, is on site for work experience, but it’s not the first time that father and daughter have spent time together in this special place.
17 years ago, Freya was born in this very hospital. She arrived six weeks prematurely due to an unusual placenta condition. Weighing just 3lbs 14oz, but able to breathe by herself, she was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where she spent 2 nights in an incubator.
"It was very emotional leaving her and returning to the maternity ward without our newborn baby, especially when the other new parents were cradling theirs."
Thankfully Freya was soon considered strong enough to be moved into the Special Care Baby Unit where Steve could finally hold her. "She was so tiny and so light. It was an amazing feeling to know that she was really there in my arms."
In the following couple of weeks, she gradually began to put on weight and grow a little stronger. "It was mix of pure joy and panic when we were allowed to take her home 16 days after she was born. She was still so delicate and small, and I remember having to add extra padding around her when we took her home in the car seat."
Steve and his wife didn’t know it yet, but their biggest challenge was yet to come. At six months old Freya was shockingly diagnosed with a liver tumour. Steve says: "Our world was flipped upside down in an instant. The staff at the hospital were brilliant, but Freya had to be transferred to Addenbrookes hospital for surgery in an attempt to remove the tumour. She survived the operation, but it was not successful. Freya subsequently became extremely ill and was transferred by emergency ambulance to Kings College Hospital, London which has the largest liver unit in the UK."
They spent the next 5 months at Kings, where Freya was placed on the liver transplant waiting list. Steve and his wife both underwent extensive physical and mental testing to be living donors with Steve being identified as the best donor match. Several months later, Freya underwent surgery again for a liver resection to try to remove the tumour. Steve was placed on standby to be an emergency donor if needed. Freya was taken into the operating theatre first while her father was prepped for surgery. It was a very long and anxious wait. "I was a complete nervous wreck at this point. Eight long hours later they came in and told us that her surgery had been a success – the skilful surgeon had managed to remove the entire tumour and had spared enough of her own liver that they didn’t need to transplant mine. We were so relieved."
When Freya was finally well enough to be discharged from King’s, she remained a frequent visitor to Luton & Dunstable hospital, where staff were always on hand for support.
"Freya would often pull out her nasogastric tube, and we had to go to the hospital to have it replaced. With a Hickman line still in place, she was also being watched for blood infections, so temperature spikes would require a hospital visit and intravenous antibiotics. The hospital is highly rated for specialist baby care and everyone from the nurses to the doctors and specialists gave us first class treatment during the toughest time of our lives."
For Steve, working with his dedicated team to transform the hospital into a state-of-the-art space feels like giving back to the hospital staff that played an important part in their daughter’s life and says that the Kier team have a powerful connection to the hospital that has been at the heart of their community for most their lives. "About a third of the team who are building the hospital are local. Their families have been treated here, they’ve had their babies here, so it’s an emotional connection that we have to this building. It is something quite special, it really is."
He’s especially excited about the new parent facilities that his team have built to give parents a safe space close to their children where they can rest. "From our own experience, it’s very easy to put all your energy into looking after your poorly child and forget about yourself – you forget to eat and to sleep and you end up going in a downward spiral. You’ve got to try and keep your energy up." Steve’s team have collected food donations for Luton and Dunstable’s charity to ensure that there is always something on hand for parents to eat.
Steve looks forward to the days when hospital staff visit the site to see progress. "They’re just so happy to see this lovely new building that they’re soon going to be moving into, the look on their faces makes it all so worth it."
The new hospital, which was procured through the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Framework, will include midwife-led birthing rooms, birthing pools and consultant-led birthing rooms for more challenging deliveries.
Steve says that patients and staff can look forward to cutting edge equipment, modern facilities and a large building with lots of space, light and colour. The team are delivering a brand new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and an intensive care unit for up to 40 babies. They are also building a brand-new special care baby unit to replace the one where Steve first got to hold his newborn daughter 17 years ago.
Inspired by the doctors and nurses who saved her life, Freya is considering working in the healthcare sector and Steve is just as proud of her now and he was back then: "She is very interested in studying medicine and is so hardworking. She does voluntary work in a care home and has loved doing work experience in a pharmacy. She’s recently achieved an excellent set of GCSEs and is now doing her A-levels. She’s a fighter and she’s just as determined now as she was when she was born."