Whether it is committed to ensuring, as part of the Best Start programme for maternity and neonatal care, that the NHS boards leading the p…

The Best Start emphasises parents as key partners in caring for their baby and aims to keep mothers and babies, and families together as much as possible in the crucial early weeks, with services designed around them.The Scottish Government remains committed to the new model of care and its aim to minimise the separation of families, and to support parents with babies in neonatal care.We have a number of measures already in place to support families:Development of Transitional Care beds within maternity units so that babies with moderate additional care needs can be cared for alongside their mothers in a postnatal ward with neonatal support;Providing accommodation for parents to stay on or near neonatal units;Roll out of the Young Patients Family Fund (formerly the Neonatal Expenses Fund) to support families with the costs of travel, accommodation and food whilst their baby is in neonatal care;andRepatriating babies to their local neonatal units as soon as clinically possible;Development of neonatal community care so that babies can get home quicker with neonatal community support.NHS boards are committed to involve parents in decision making and providing care for their baby; to provide funding support and accommodation for parents to stay on or near the unit, facilities within the unit to encourage kangaroo skin to skin care, early support for breastfeeding and to develop clear information for parents.