Theme: Complex health care and chronic disease management.

Family-centred care is a philosophy of care characterized by partnership and respect between healthcare professionals and families (and patients), demanding a systematic assessment of the complexity of each family, including their beliefs and values, communication style, and ability to make decisions.

This presentation will unfold the evolution of nursing care delivered at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of a University Hospital in the north of Portugal, since its origin in 1983 to the present day.

Some milestones will be analysed such as the inclusion of parents in the care delivery, the implementation of kangaroo care, the systematic discharge protocol or the recent award of Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) Certified Centre.

Next developments, starting this year, include the development of the primary nursing model for nursing staff allocation and quality audits for assessing quality of care and patient safety.