In a life threatening emergency dial Triple Zero (000)

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Our Newborn and Parent Support Service (NAPSS) provides home or community-based nursing, assessment, advice and support. We see parents of high-risk newborns and infants with additional needs who have required neonatal intensive care or special care nursery support in the newborn period.

About this service

Our Newborn and Parent Support Service nurses have extensive experience in caring for sick and premature babies. They work with the clinical care coordinator, neonatologist, paediatrician, speech pathologist, nutritionists, social workers and other members of the allied health team to provide ongoing nursing and medical care once your baby comes home from the Neonatal Unit. A hospital referral is required to access this service.

Who we care for

Our Newborn and Parent Support Service cares for newborns who required medical care in hospital and have ongoing care needs once they go home.

Our services are free to Medicare card holders. There may be a fee for non-medical eligible patients.

How to access this service

When you are in hospital after the birth of your child, a member of our team will meet with you to discuss the ongoing care needs of your baby and will offer access to the Newborn and Parent Support Service if this is appropriate.

If you are under the care of the Newborn and Parent Support Service team and have any concerns about your baby, please contact us on:

In the event of an emergency please dial 000.

What to expect

Newborn and Parent Support Service visits

Our nursing staff can visit you in your home, at the hospital or at one of our community-based centres. The location of the visit will be based on your baby’s needs and your circumstances. Our appointments will be scheduled between the hours of 8:30am and 1:30pm and each appointment will take about 30 to 45 minutes.

At each visit we will:

  • assess your baby’s growth
  • do a physical assessment of your baby
  • help with any feeding concerns
  • provide general advice and support for parenting matters.

How often we visit will depend on your baby’s progress and ongoing nursing and medical needs. In your first week home from hospital, we may visit every second day or several times. Over the next couple of weeks as your baby progresses, the number of times we visit you each week will reduce.

The nurse will assess your child, discuss your concerns and measure their growth. You will be with your child the entire time. The nurse will make a record of the assessment in your child’s personal health record (Blue Book). If there are any concerns, they may ask you to make a follow up appointment or refer you to another service or health professional for follow-up.

Follow-up appointments for other child health and parenting issues

We will keep visiting you and your baby until you no longer need support from the program. This is usually after about 2 to 4 weeks.

When you no longer need Newborn and Parent Support Service support, we will refer you to:

If your baby continues to need naso-gastric tube feeds or oxygen supplementation after they are no longer with the  program, we will refer them to Paediatric Outpatient services for continuation of monitoring and support.

What to bring to your appointment?

  • If attending an outpatient appointment, please remember to bring your child’s personal health record (Blue Book).

Where we’re located

We will usually visit you at your home.

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In the case of a life threatening emergency, dial Triple Zero (000).

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Contact us

Switchboard Canberra Hospital
(02) 5124 0000

International callers
+61 (2) 5124 0000

Switchboard North Canberra Hospital
(02) 6201 6111

International callers
+61 (2) 6201 6111

Switchboard other hospitals and services
(02) 5124 0000

International callers
+61 (2) 5124 0000

The switchboard handles all calls to, from and within the hospital 24 hours/seven days a week