Dr. Sara Watkin
MB ChB, MRCP (paeds), FRCPCH, MD
Consultant Neonatologist Cayman Islands
Introduction to Dr Sara Watkin
Consultant Neonatologist Cayman Islands
I have been a consultant neonatologist (newborn care specialist) for 30 years, including more than 8 years here in the Cayman Islands, bringing true neonatal expertise, compassion and a very calm disposition to deliveries. I am a passionate advocate for parental wishes alongside newborn safety. I am qualified both as a neonatologist (specialist newborn, preterm, baby doctor) and a paediatrician. I trained in some of the foremost neonatal intensive care units in the United Kingdom, and have been Chief of Service or no less than two tertiary NICUs, including one famous for its work in pioneering both ventilation of newborn infants and in the use of therapeutic hypothermia for birth complications. I pride myself on practising up-to-date, evidence-based medicine, with an unwavering passion for excellence and safety.
Quick Page Guide & Navigation
Dr Sara Watkin’s Newborn Services
Find out what newborn services Dr Watkin provides here in Cayman
Attending Deliveries & Baby Checks
Discover Dr Watkin’s newborn paediatric services around delivery
Neonatal Training & Expertise
Dr Watkin’s neonatal qualifications, training and experience
Awards, Testimonials & Feedback
Ask Dr Sara a Question
Frequently Asked Questions
Articles & Resources from Dr Sara
Clinic Information, Hours & Visiting
Paediatric Urgent Care & Out-of-Hours
Booking an Appointment
Quick Page Guide & Navigation
Latest News, Info and Posts from Dr Sara Watkin
Dr Sara Watkin’s Newborn & Neonatal Services
I knew I wanted to be a neonatologist from my younger years and I have devoted my career to mastering neonatal care and delivering optimal care to even the sickest of infants or preterm or term infants. Over 30 years as a consultant working in tertiary neonatology, there really isn’t much I haven’t faced, many, many times.
Regular Newborn Care
Attending Deliveries & Doing Baby Checks
Calm, reassuring and supportive when all is well and the safest possible pair of hands if nature throws in an unexpected curved ball or problem.
Supporting Skin to Skin
Delayed Cord Clamping
Immediate Assessment
Comprehensive Baby Checks
Supporting Birth Plans & Wishes
I am very much the parental wishes advocate, including specific wishes, like delayed cord clamping, or providing skin-to-skin immediately after birth.
Birth Plans & Wishes
Immediate Skin-to-Skin
Advocacy for Parents
Aligning Expectations
Balancing with Safety
Newborn Screening & Immunisations
I am passionate about ensuring all babies get the safest and best start in life, starting at birth, and including screening and immunisation.
Newborn Baby Checks
Hip Dysplasia
Congential Problems
NeoGen Newborn Screening
Early Immunisations
Early Support & Feeding Establishment
Birth is the beginning of a whole new journey and I am passionate about supporting parents, whether first time or experienced, to enjoy it all.
Immediate Advice or Concerns
Newborn Safety
Establishment of Feeding
Breast Feeding Issues
Safe Sleeping
Neonatal Care & Neonatal Intensive Care
Newborn Resuscitation & Urgent Care
Things can and do go wrong. An unidentified congential problem or a complication in delivery. It’s where my 30 years of tertiary neonatology truly counts.
Birth Asphyxia
Breathing Difficulties
Fetal Emergencies
Unexpected Conditions
Extremely Preterm
Neonatal Intensive Care & Emergencies
Emergencies require calm, swift attention to the most important, which comes from experience. And successful neonatal intenstve care requires the relentless pursuit of excellence.
Therapeutic Hypothermia
Rapid Stabilisation
Transfer to NICU
Day & Night Attention
Preterm (Premature) Delivery & Care
I have spent 30+ years in tertiary NICUs caring for infants from 23 weeks gestation onwards, including as Chief of Service in world-renowned University College London Hospitals.
Care from 23 Weeks Gestation
Bronchopulmonry Dysplasia
Pulmonary Hypertension
TPN & Nutrition
Respiratory Distress Syndrome & Ventilation
Especially for severe RDS, being able to deploy what’s needed, without handing over care, is important to achieving the best outcome regardless of severity.
Conventional Ventilation
Nasal CPAP
High Frequency Oscillation
Nitric Oxide
SIMV, SiPAP & Volume
Jaundice & Phototherapy
We get our fair share of jaundice in the Cayman Islands, and effective care reduces the risk of serious adverse outcomes like Kernicterus or bilirubin encephalopathy.
Early Detection
Phototherapy
Exchange Transfusion
Admissions & Care
Newborn Infections & Sepsis
Newborns can suffer from infections, which if not addressed swiftly, can lead to life-threatening sepsis. Identifying the type of infection is critical to rapid treatment.
Bacterial Infections e.g. GBS
Viral Infections e.g. HSV
Fungal Infections
Parasitic Colonisation
Seizures & Encephalopathy
Some of our most severe complications. I have championed use of therapeutic hypothermia in Cayman, given my heritage from a World-leading, founder centre for this.
Cord Prolapse Issues
Birthing-related Asphyxia
Immediate Stabilisation & Care
International Transfers
Congential & Genetic Conditions
I am highly experienced at managing the rare and unexpected from 30 years of neonatal care in large tertiary centres providing state-of-the-art care for these conditions.
Heart Defects
Neural Tube Defects
Downs Syndrome
Trisomy 13 & 18
Genetic Conditions in Cayman
The gold standard approach to ensuring best or most appropriate care for genetic conditions, some of which can be life-limiting, is to diagnose them antenatally through genetic testing. However, this is not always covered by insurance and thus unaccessible for some. And even with the high number of ultrasound scans we use on Island, I have still been faced in delivery with previously undetected conditions. I am passionate about ensuring best care in these complex conditions, and helping parents make the best choices for them. As a neonatologist with 30 years tertiary experience, I have managed so many despite their rarity.
Why Use Dr Sara Watkin as your Newborn or Neonatal Specialist?
30 Years Tertiary Neonatology
Highly Experienced & Time Served
Former Chief of Service for NICU
Full GMC Registration July 1987
UK Subspecialty Accreditation
Swift, Expert Emergency Care
Calm, Calming & Reassuring
Extremely Diligent & Focused
Available for 24/7 Care
Wisdom of Years
Training & Experience as a Neonatologist
I am delighted to share more about my training, background a range of experiences from 30 years as a Consultant Neonatologist, both in the United Kingdom and now nearly 9 years here in the Cayman Islands.
Qualifications & Neonatal Training
I was awarded a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery with Honours from Manchester University in United Kingdom in 1986 and then went on to train as a neonatologist and paediatrician:
I went through neonatal training when it was firmly a subspecialty to paediatrics but I was in the vanguard of those that obtained formal accreditation as a neonatologist, as the UK recognised that neonatal care was far better served by a specialist neonatologist than a general paediatrician who also oversaw the NICU. In the UK and majority of other countries too, neonatal care is the sole domain of the neonatologist, because of that specialist training and expertise.
Neonatology Experience
It’s true to say that I have rather extensive experience as a Consultant Neonatologist in 2 large regional level 3 (tertiary) NICUs and then latterly here in Cayman, amounting to 30 years as a consultant providing tertiary neonatal care.
As a consultant, I started at Nottingham City Hospital, from December 1994 until April 2006, some 11½ years (including a significant number as Chief of Service) and at University College London Hospital as a locum from 2009-10 and as a permanent consultant from December 2010 until July 2016 (with 5 years as Chief of Service here too), at which point I took up post as the primary neonatal specialist for the island of Grand Cayman.
For comparison, Nottingham City Hospital had 6,000 births and delivered over 3,000 neonatal intensive care and high dependency care days per year. It would take Cayman a decade to reach what we faced each year in Nottingham.
However, I also covered out of hours for both hospitals in Nottingham (10,000 births and 6,000 IC and HD days) and managed both complex neonatal medical and surgical cases. There’s not much I haven’t seen many, many times.
So how many years experience?
More About My Neonatal Experience
University College London Hospital is one of the UK leading specialist centres. It has 6,400 deliveries per year with over 1,000 admissions to the Neonatal Unit of extremely sick complex babies requiring in total nearly 6,000 neonatal intensive care and high dependency care days. UCLH has the highest inborn admission rate in the UK for babies born at less than 29 weeks gestation. UCLH has a renowned fetal medicine unit and is the delivery unit for babies who will need future care at Great Ormond Street Hospital. This means we took and cared for sick newborns from across the UK with complex problems especially cardiac problems, neurosurgical problems and general surgical problems including diaphragmatic hernias. UCLH is also a designated centre for brain cooling for birth-related newborn brain injury & has a significant number of referral of infants with complex neurological problems.
That probably all sounds rather over-scientific. Yes, it does mean that I have lots of experience in newborn care, including the most complex forms too. The majority of births don’t need that depth but when they do demand it, it’s obviously reassuring to have!
WHAT ELSE CAN I TELL YOU?
I have been the clinical lead for early care and ventilation in my 2 permanent UK consultant roles. I have considerable experience in all modes of ventilation and non-invasive respiratory support including conventional ventilation, volume guarantee, SIPAP, CPAP & HHF (if you want to know what these are, I will happily expand). I am highly competent in all neonatal procedures and perform on a regular basis neonatal resuscitation, intubation, line insertion including UAC & UVC & chest drain insertion, and cranial ultrasound.
At UCLH I ran the neonatal chronic lung disease clinic and at NCH I was involved in the follow-up of all preterm babies <30 weeks gestation until the age of 2 years. This included many infants with complex problems or family situations but also included monitoring of the developmental progress of all infants to ensure they thrived after their early experiences and challenges.
I have a vast experience in the management of the long-term neonate including severe chronic lung disease, feeding difficulties, complex congenital abnormalities and syndromes with a reduced life span. You’ll find I have excellent counselling and communication skills and extensive experience in involving teams and families in end-of-life decisions, obviously a scenario no parent wishes to face, or is adequately prepared for. As an experienced paediatrician, one of the comments I get that I am most proud of is how reassured people feel.
In Nottingham I developed additional special interests in the management of babies born to HIV positive mothers and babies born to drug using mothers. Fortunately, these are both comparatively rare on Cayman, although rather more common throughout the Caribbean. For each of my areas of special interest I was lead clinician and responsible for clinical improvement, evidence-based guideline development, audit and teaching. In my interests in babies born to HIV positive mothers I worked closely with the Obstetricians and Consultants in GU Medicine and Infectious Diseases.
Lastly, I am also a co-author of Pocket Neonatology, a well-regarded neonatal handbook used all over the World as the ‘go to’ practical guide for neonatal care.
Awards, Testimonials & Feedback
Scholarships, Awards & Prizes
Clinical Excellence Awards
I am especially proud of my Clinical Excellence Awards. The National Clinical Impact Award (NCIA) scheme in England and Wales – formerly the National Clinical Excellence Awards (NCEA) scheme – aims to reward the consultants who contribute most to the delivery of safe and high-quality care and the improvement of NHS services. These are areas I am passionate about.
Before moving to the Cayman Islands in 2016, I had been awarded 9 Clinical Excellence Award points, which is actually the maximum possible under the scheme, and these were all for my contributions to neonatal care and excellence. I was appointed as one of a small number of advisors to the NHS England, as part of the neonatal CRG (Clinical Reference Group).
What Optimal’s Patients are Saying About Dr Sara Watkin
Appreciate Dr Sara
I’m so happy to have you
The level of care is off the scale
Dr Sara Watkin’s Feedback Scores
- On a scale of 0 (terrible) to 10 (fantastic), how did your doctor do? 95%
- On a scale of 0 (not at all likely) to 10 (extremely likely), how likely are you to recommend us to family, a friend or colleague? 97%
Ask Dr Sara
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the more common questions I get asked about my newborn, neonatal & paediatric care and services.
Just how available are you?
If you asked my parents they’d say “Dr Sara is always available when we need her” and that comes from the fact that if I am here (and I travel very little), I am almost always available by phone or WhatsApp and usually within minutes unless I am already seeing a patient. More importantly for neonatal care, I am available 24/7 and as calm and present at night as I am in the daytime!
Is your neonatal care expensive given your experience?
No, it is not. Even though I am so experienced and qualified for neonatal care, I charge Cayman Standard Fees based on the Standard Health Insurance Fees (SHIF) schedule, the same as all paediatricians in Cayman. Neonatal care is costly regardless of this. However, having the right expertise and care approach leads to lower use of extra things and a shorter time to discharge, which can save thousands of dollars. It’s one of the biggest benefits of this level of expertise.
Do you charge for vaccines & immunisations?
Paediatrician or neonatologist - what's the difference?
In the United Kingdom, we use Paediatrician for children and Neonatologist for newborn and neonatal problems. So, someone who trained in the UK would use paediatrician when their expertise is general or specialist paediatrics, and neonatologist if they held formal accreditation in neonatal medicine. I am both, with formal accreditation as a neonatologist.
This can be an important distinction. In the UK, neonatal intensive case is typically now only provided by neonatologists because of the recognition that the right outcomes are reliant on the specialist training. A paediatrician would not attend deliveries. In Cayman, which has a slightly less developed system, paediatricians do still attend deliveries but having a fully trained and accredited neonatologist, with up-to-date newborn resusciation skills would be a choice aligned with virtually all modern, advanced health systems.
Do you provide care after a discharge from NICU?
Absolutely. Not only is that standard for me here in Cayman, if you your infant has received care in a US or other NICU, I can both help plan bringing them back to the Island and provide all levels of ongoing care and follow up.
Are you the best children's doctor in Cayman?
Do you offer telehealth or teleconsultations?
Can you help our child if we are travelling?
Articles & Resources from Dr Sara
Urgent Paediatric & Neonatal Care
Paediatric urgent care takes many forms, from simple advice to a an emergency hospital admission, whereas neonatal care often necessitates a rush into hospital for delivery, followed by admission to the neonatal unit. Both require high availability and rapid responsiveness. I have up-to-date paediatric and newborn resuscitation skills, and full admitting rights to the Cayman Islands Hospital, as well as to Health City Cayman Islands at Camana Bay for neonatal care too.
Out-of-hours Access
I pride myself on my availability for urgent or out-of-hours paediatric care and ‘always available’ is one of the things my parents love most. Additionally, for neonatal care, I am available continuously 24/7. I live permanently in Grand Cayman and only a short drive to both my clinic and both hospitals. Whilst on island, I am permanently on call for deliveries and neonatal patients, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. However, you’ll also find me extremely accessible out of hours for paediatric urgent care. You can phone on 326-7827.
Hospital Admissions
I carry admitting rights to Cayman Islands Hospital (HSA) in George Town (both for newborns and for the paediatric wards), and to Health City Cayman Islands at Camana Bay for neonatal admissions. I work closely with both sets of teams to ensure efficient admission and coordinated care, whether it is simply for observation and monitoring or whether it is something more serious. If you feel your child may be sufficiently unwell that a hospital admission is warranted, in the first instance please call me on 326-7827. However, in ALL paediatric emergencies, please head straight to the Emergency Room at HSA, as it is better to set off and call me on the way. In terms of neonatal care, we would discuss options during our antenatal sessions to ensure best choices are made in an urgent situation.
Guide to Booking an Appointment
We like to make life easy, so you have many ways, depending on your preference.
Use the Virtual Assistant in the bottom right corner, on any page
Use the Book Appointment button anywhere on the site
Go to a Physician page and use the Book Appointment button
Submit an Appointment Request Form on a Physician’s page and let us do the rest
Call us on
(345) 745 7070 in working hours
Email us on team@optimal.ky
Book an Appointment Online
The easiest way, with instant confirmation, is to book online, below. You can also book an appointment with Dr Watkin by phone, at our Dorcy Drive clinic by calling (345) 745 7070 in office hours.
Our current clinic address is: Optimal Healthcare Ltd at Dr Glatz Office, 2 Alexander Place, Dorcy Drive, George Town, Grand Cayman. We have extensive new premises nearby undergoing fit out, and in the meantime, the wonderful Dr Glatz has so kindly provided us with a new home.
Important Instructions
Please simply work through the steps on screen. If you are using a smartphone, it helps to turn your screen sideways (landscape). If you have booked an appointment and seen Dr Watkin previously at Optimal Healthcare only, it is likely we have your child’s details in the system.
Please use the following information when prompted to do so:
- Your Own Email (if yours isn’t found, try your spouse’s)
- Your Child’s Name
- Child’s Date of Birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
- Child’s Gender
PLEASE NOTE: Regardless of whether you have seen Dr Watkin at previous practices, you will be a NEW PATIENT the first time you see her at Optimal Healthcare Ltd.
