Kaleidoscope’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the John Hunter Children’s Hospital is the largest in the state. It provides highly skilled care to critically ill newborn babies. The unit has just increased to a 40 bed unit, with 16 intensive care (level 3) beds, 24 special care (level 2) beds and admits between 800 - 1200 infants each year.

The NICU is the only NICU in New South Wales outside of the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area and the only unit currently amalgamating perinatal and wider children's hospital services. The perinatal service at The John Hunter Children's Hospital acts as a tertiary referral centre for Newcastle, the Hunter valley, New England region and Northern New South Wales.

NICU serves as the intensive care neonatal unit for approximately 13000 deliveries from the Hunter, Northern NSW, New England and Wyong area. The unit averages near 100% occupancy with a staff of over 120 medical, nursing, allied health, paramedical and other staff. As part of the John Hunter Children’s hospital we serve as the expert centre for newborn care for the Northern child health network. The unit carries out some NETS transfers by ambulance or helicopter of babies born close to Newcastle who need level three care, NETS teams from Sydney carry out transfers from further afield in fixed wing aircraft.

The NICU’s smallest surviving patient weighed a tiny 500 grams. The youngest patient so far was only 23 weeks gestation.

Neonatal intensive care costs for each baby are $1200 per day.

Breathing problems is the most common reason for why a newborn or premature baby is admitted to NICU. Some will require surgery.

All clinical staff working within NICU have been specially trained in neonatal care.

NICU also conducts clinical research in medical, nursing and allied health disciplines to discover and implement better ways of caring for sick babies.