Everton CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale and Director of Football Marcel Brands paid a visit to Liverpool Women’s Hospital last week to see its new neonatal unit and find out more about the specialist care that the hospital provides to 1000 babies each year.

The Everton duo were met on arrival by Kate Davis, Head of Fundraising at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, and Andrew Loughney, Medical Director, and were given an overview of the hospital’s recent ‘Big Tiny Steps Appeal’.

The campaign, which has seen the hospital fundraise for a variety of enhanced facilities on the new neonatal unit, will provide newborns and their families not only with world-class clinical provision but also holistic family care.

Everton CEO Barrett-Baxendale and the Club’s Director of Football Brands were then taken to the neonatal unit where they met several families who are currently accessing the specialist care at the hospital.

The families were presented with Everton gift bags containing some essential items for tiny Toffees, as well as an invitation to lead the first-team out as a junior mascot or Toffee Lady at the Club’s planned new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

“Liverpool Women’s Hospital is an institution in our city – it is a name that people know they can trust and believe in and the work they do is so vitally important to the growth of our city,” said Professor Barrett-Baxendale.

“It was inspiring to visit the hospital with Marcel and see firsthand the incredible work that the neonatal unit staff do day in and day out to provide specialist care to the 1000 babies who are born each year, either prematurely or with a medical condition that requires specialist equipment.”

Brands added: “Just like Everton in the Community, Liverpool Women’s Hospital has a huge impact on the city of Liverpool and provides excellent care for sick babies and their families. On behalf of Everton Football Club, we’d like to thank the wonderful staff there for their life-saving work.”

Liverpool Women’s neonatal unit is part of the Cheshire and Merseyside Neonatal Network and takes care of families from the Isle of Man, North Wales and other areas of the country.

The unit is located within Liverpool Women’s Crown Street site, where they house 44 cots; 12 for the intensive care of newborns, 12 for high dependency and 20 for low dependency care. There are also eight cots for transitional care that are situated on the maternity ward.

“It was fantastic to receive a visit from Denise-Barrett-Baxendale and Marcel Brands to showcase our fantastic new facilities in our neonatal unit,” said Kate Davis, Head of fundraising at Liverpool Women’s.

“We have recently refurbished the department after nearly £250,000 was raised through our ‘Big Tiny Steps Appeal’ and the new unit provides more cot side space and reclining chairs for skin to skin contact, as well as an outdoor garden so families can escape the clinical intensity of the ward without being too far away.

“We are very grateful for the support from Everton and it was a wonderful boost to the families on the unit.”

Barrett-Baxendale and Brands were accompanied on their visit by Everton in the Community’s ‘Sit and Knit’ group who, since 2017, have been attending a weekly session at The People’s Hub where they come together to socialise and knit.

Andrew Loughney, Medical Director at Liverpool Women’s, met the knitting group and said: “It was great to see Denise and Marcel showing such a strong interest in the work we do at Liverpool Women's and chatting to some of the outstanding supporters in the Sit and Knit group.

“A real connection was apparent and the visit was hugely appreciated.”

The ‘Sit and Knit’ group was established in 2017 by Blue Mile retired resident, Lily, who wanted to give back to the local community after working as a midwife in Africa.

After noticing the need for baby items to be made to fit around medical equipment within neonatal wards, Lily approached Everton in the Community’s Neighbourhood team to set up the initiative, which now has up to 10 women attending each week.

The last few months has seen the group create more than 100 blue and white knitted items which have been donated to the Little Woollens Shop at Liverpool Women’s.

Everton in the Community’s Neighbourhood team supports the local residents and businesses living in the Blue Mile (Walton, Anfield, Everton and Kirkdale) and works to tackle the biggest issues within the local area, including social isolation, food poverty, keeping the community active and educating neighbours.

In addition to the weekly Sit and Knit group, the charity’s Neighbourhood team also offers a number of other free daily initiatives which include neighbour days out, a reading project, community days, street sweeper activities, yoga, foodbank crisis support and money management support drop-ins.

All projects are designed to break down barriers for those who live in the area which, statistically, is the fourth most deprived in the country.

For more information on the projects delivered by Everton's Neighbourhood team, please contact neighbourhood@evertonfc.com.