Congratulations to
Royal Preston Hospitalfor recruiting the latest BALLOON baby on .Recruitment dashboard
Families and neonatal teams are moving BALLOON forward.
Recruitment figures show progress towards the trial target and contributions from participating neonatal units across the United Kingdom.
At a glance
Current recruitment
All figures are aggregate counts from the existing read-only recruitment source.
Overall
21.2%115 / 542 recruited · 427 remaining
United Kingdom
21.2%115 / 542 recruited · 427 remaining
Last refreshed from the public aggregate feed: 30 August 2026, 15:19.
Contributions across the network
Recruitment by centre
The centre bar charts are separated by country. The single table below is the authoritative accessible alternative and includes centres before their first participant.
United Kingdom centres
Arrowe Park Hospital1
Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust0
Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital0
Hull Royal Infirmary6
John Radcliffe Hospital9
Leicester Royal Infirmary10
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust4
Medway Maritime Hospital4
Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust6
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals1
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust0
Queen Alexandra Hospital21
Royal Preston Hospital6
Royal Sussex County Hospital5
Royal United Hospital1
Royal Victoria Infirmary12
Scunthorpe General Hospital0
Southmead Hospital7
St George’s Hospital1
St Peter’s Hospital2
St Richard’s Hospital1
University Hospital of Wales10
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust5
Worthing Hospital3
Recruitment by centre — accessible table
| Country | Centre | Status | Recruited |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom centres | |||
| United Kingdom | Arrowe Park Hospital | Recruiting | 1 |
| United Kingdom | Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust | Open | 0 |
| United Kingdom | Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital | Open | 0 |
| United Kingdom | Hull Royal Infirmary | Recruiting | 6 |
| United Kingdom | John Radcliffe Hospital | Recruiting | 9 |
| United Kingdom | Leicester Royal Infirmary | Recruiting | 10 |
| United Kingdom | Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust | Recruiting | 4 |
| United Kingdom | Medway Maritime Hospital | Recruiting | 4 |
| United Kingdom | Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust | Recruiting | 6 |
| United Kingdom | Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals | Recruiting | 1 |
| United Kingdom | Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust | Open | 0 |
| United Kingdom | Queen Alexandra Hospital | Recruiting | 21 |
| United Kingdom | Royal Preston Hospital | Recruiting | 6 |
| United Kingdom | Royal Sussex County Hospital | Recruiting | 5 |
| United Kingdom | Royal United Hospital | Recruiting | 1 |
| United Kingdom | Royal Victoria Infirmary | Recruiting | 12 |
| United Kingdom | Scunthorpe General Hospital | Open | 0 |
| United Kingdom | Southmead Hospital | Recruiting | 7 |
| United Kingdom | St George’s Hospital | Recruiting | 1 |
| United Kingdom | St Peter’s Hospital | Recruiting | 2 |
| United Kingdom | St Richard’s Hospital | Recruiting | 1 |
| United Kingdom | University Hospital of Wales | Recruiting | 10 |
| United Kingdom | University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust | Recruiting | 5 |
| United Kingdom | Worthing Hospital | Recruiting | 3 |
| UK subtotal | 115 | ||
| Overall total | 115 | ||
Progress over time
Monthly and cumulative recruitment
Stacked columns separate monthly recruitment by country; lines show cumulative recruitment. Exact values are provided in the table.
Interactive recruitment chart
Allow external media in Cookie settings to load the chart, or use the complete data table below.
Monthly and cumulative recruitment — accessible table
| Month | UK monthly | Overall cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 2025 | 1 | 1 |
| May 2025 | 3 | 4 |
| Jun 2025 | 8 | 12 |
| Jul 2025 | 8 | 20 |
| Aug 2025 | 5 | 25 |
| Sep 2025 | 7 | 32 |
| Oct 2025 | 9 | 41 |
| Nov 2025 | 3 | 44 |
| Dec 2025 | 9 | 53 |
| Jan 2026 | 8 | 61 |
| Feb 2026 | 7 | 68 |
| Mar 2026 | 6 | 74 |
| Apr 2026 | 2 | 76 |
| May 2026 | 12 | 88 |
| Jun 2026 | 8 | 96 |
| Jul 2026 | 6 | 102 |
| Aug 2026 | 13 | 115 |
| Sep 2026 | — | — |
| Oct 2026 | — | — |
| Nov 2026 | — | — |
| Dec 2026 | — | — |
| Jan 2027 | — | — |
| Feb 2027 | — | — |
| Mar 2027 | — | — |
| Apr 2027 | — | — |
| May 2027 | — | — |
| Jun 2027 | — | — |
| Jul 2027 | — | — |
| Aug 2027 | — | — |
| Sep 2027 | — | — |
| Oct 2027 | — | — |
| Nov 2027 | — | — |
| Dec 2027 | — | — |
How recruitment works
Families are approached by their local neonatal research team.
Babies are recruited while receiving care in a participating hospital. Families do not need to search for a centre, arrange a referral or contact another hospital.
For trial questions: participating families should contact the research nurse at their baby’s local hospital.
For clinical advice: contact your baby’s local clinical service, neonatal team, GP or NHS 111. Call 999 in an emergency.
Participating hospitals
BALLOON is recruiting through neonatal teams across the United Kingdom.
See the hospitals currently listed as participating BALLOON sites and their country-specific maps.
Find out more
About taking part in BALLOON
The recruitment dashboard reports trial progress. Parent information explains eligibility, randomisation, Bactek and placebo, and what participation involves.