Parent’s donation funds new milk kitchen for Basildon Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Mid and South Essex Hospitals Charity recently celebrated a generous £9,450 donation from Danielle and Chris Batley, parents from Horndon on the Hill, whose fundraising will help create a dedicated milk kitchen for Basildon Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Their gift will support families whose babies require specialist neonatal care.

The Batleys’ daughter, Iris, spent 10 weeks in Basildon NICU during the summer of 2025 when she was born 13 weeks early in the July. Now seven months old, she is doing incredibly well and boasts a very busy social life! As well as baby massage, sensory classes and swimming, she also joins her mum in the family’s flower fields as she returns to work at their family-owned flower farming business.

During their time on the unit, Danielle and Chris saw first-hand the challenges faced by parents needing to express or prepare milk. Without a dedicated space, nurses were required to sterilise pump parts and bottles – an essential but time‑consuming task.

Danielle explained how this inspired their fundraising: “We can only thank the staff at Basildon for all the support they gave us whilst Iris was in the NICU and we felt so strongly about thanking them that is why we have raised this money.”

She added that not having access to a milk kitchen placed pressure on both families and staff: “It makes it really difficult for mums to express milk when we have to rely on nurses to sterilise pumps, especially when they’re already so busy caring for babies on the unit. Chris and I struggled with not having the independence to clean our own pump parts and bottles while we were in the NICU. In such a challenging time, giving parents the chance to take on this small but meaningful part of their baby’s care would mean the world.”

Chris, who is the golf club captain at Mardyke Valley Golf Club, helped raise more than £5,000 through a charity golf day held at the club. The remaining funds were raised through an open day at the family’s flower fields, bringing the total to £9,450.

The new milk kitchen will provide a safe, fully equipped space for parents to clean, sterilise, and prepare feeding equipment independently. It will also free up valuable nursing time.

On the Batley’s donation, Senior NICU sister Lucy Lisle said “It can be incredibly hard for parents on NICU; on top of the worry and exhaustion of having an unwell baby, they often feel less involved in their newborn’s care than they’d hoped. Having the chance to prepare their baby’s bottles and sterilise pumps and bottles themselves will mean so much to them.”

Work will begin on creating the Batley’s generously funded milk kitchen as soon as possible and we look forward to sharing updates of the progress.

If you’d like to support projects like this across Mid and South Essex Hospitals, the charity welcomes donations of any size to help enhance patient care and family experience.