The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) has recently celebrated treating 500 babies with jaundice at home, since the service was launched in January 2023.

The Leicester Neonatal Homecare team provides a phototherapy service, to treat some babies at home with light therapy rather than them needing to stay in hospital.  This means families can be home sooner and it frees up hospital beds for other poorly infants. The service currently treats approximately twenty babies each month safely at home.

When Leicester area community midwives identify a baby with jaundice, they meet with the family and, depending on the level of jaundice, supply them with special equipment to safely provide phototherapy treatment in the comfort of their own home. Jaundice, the yellow colour seen on the skin of many newborn babies, is caused by a buildup of bilirubin in the blood. Phototherapy, also known as light therapy, is a treatment using a special type of light that makes it easier for newborn babies to break down and remove the bilirubin from their system.