IT's the ward where Warrington Hospital's smallest and cutest patients are cared for and, to mark World Prematurity Day, the Warrington Guardian has been given exclusive behind the scenes access to the neonatal unit.

With room for 18 little ones on the ward, Warrington Hospital cares for babies born from 27 weeks onwards or weighing as little as 750g.

On Friday, November 17, the Warrington Guardian headed down to the hospital to sample a day in the life of the neonatal unit as it celebrated World Prematurity Day.

But, for neonatal staff nurse Suzy Rigby, no day on the ward is ever the same.

She said: “You see the babies’ whole journeys from when they first come in to the world to when they leave, and it’s always very rewarding.

“I was a nursery nurse for 10 years before I retrained and came here newly-qualified five years ago - I think I’d always wanted to go into nursing but I’d just never got round to it.

“Every day is different and I like how much the job can vary from day to day.

“You could be bottle feeding, you can be with the little tiny babies in an incubator or your bleeper can go off and you have to rush off to theatre - there is no set pattern or routine."

One of the longest serving members of staff on the neonatal unit is still enjoying life caring for Warrington Hospital's youngest patients after nearly four decades.

First joining the hospital as a nursery nurse when she was only a teenager, Julia has now worked in the role for a total of 38 years - save for a period away from the hospital while she was on maternity leave.

A number of the babies the 56-year-old has helped to care for on the ward in the past during their very first days of life are now parents themselves.

Julia, from Appleton said: "I started working here when I was 18 and I've been here 38 years now, apart from when I took a break when I had my children.

"In my role, I help to make sure that mums are happy that they're feeding well when their babies are ready to leave hospital and go home.

"It's always nice to see the babies when they come back to visit us and to see that they're growing up.

"We have a Facebook group which parents post updates on their children in, and in fact we have babies who we looked after years ago who are mummies themselves now.

"You go into town and everyone says hello because they remember you from the unit.

"I do love my job and I wouldn't have been here for this long if I didn't."

Marisa Owen first joined the hospital three years ago as a staff nurse before becoming a sister, and in September she began the journey to becoming an advanced neonatal nurse practitioner - a role she will be learning as a trainee for the next two years.

She said: “I’m quite eager to learn lots of new things and the whole team here is very supportive of me.

“It can be very stressful but I knew that it would be before I took on the role.

“I like the adrenaline rush of emergency procedures and it was something I really wanted to delve into."

Karen Byrne gave birth to her first children, twins Olivia and Leo Fitzpatrick, at Warrington Hospital on Sunday, November 12 at 33-and-a-half weeks.

The new mum, from Liverpool, has lavished praise on staff on the neonatal unit.

She said: "Olivia and Leo have done really well and they’re coming on lovely.

“They’re so tiny, but it looks like Olivia is the placid one and Leo is the troublemaker.

“Ever since I got here, the team have been absolutely fabulous.

“I can’t fault the staff because they’re so reassuring.

"They’ve been absolutely amazing and they’re great at supporting parents, even if they’re just chatting to you when you’re sat on your own with the babies."