26th June 2024
Maternity and Community Health Visiting services within the Southern Health and Social Care Trust have been accredited as Baby Friendly Gold for ensuring parents are supported to make fully informed choices about how they feed their babies.
The UNICEF’s UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI), which is internationally recognised, is based on a set of interlinking evidence-based standards for maternity, health visiting, neonatal and children’s centres services. These are designed to provide parents with the best possible care to build close and loving relationships with their baby and to feed their baby which will support optimum health and development.
Both teams had previously held full baby friendly accreditation and over the past year have been actively working towards achieving the highly acclaimed Baby Friendly Gold Award, which is the next step for services that are currently accredited as Baby Friendly and consistently meeting the Baby Friendly standards.
Routine audits of staff skills and knowledge, mothers and babies care and experiences ensures that the Baby Friendly standards are fully implemented and a high level of care is provided.
The award recognises not only the teams’ initial dedication to providing exceptional care but also their ongoing commitment to innovation, education, and continuous improvement.
Paula Boyle, Head of Midwifery and Gynaecology said:
“This is a fantastic achievement for our maternity team, and I am so proud of all my colleagues who have worked so hard to get this. The gold award reflects our long-standing commitment to supporting mothers to breastfeed and to help all parents build a close and loving relationship with their baby, irrespective of feeding method.”
Mairead Donnelly, Head of Public Health and Nursing, said:
“This fantastic result has demonstrated the high level of care and support provided by health visitors and family nurses in protecting and supporting breastfeeding and responsive feeding. The judges were extremely impressed with the strength and compassion of the leadership team.
“The collaborative working between midwifery, health visiting, neonatal and sure start was praised, as staff spoke very favourably of the benefits of this increased integration in establishing and sustaining mothers breastfeeding journey.
“Feedback from mothers reported that staff were kind and considerate 100% of the time, which is an absolutely amazing result.”
Dr Maria O’Kane, Chief Executive, said:
“My huge thanks to everyone for the work that they have done and continue to do so to promote breastfeeding and the Baby Friendly standards and to ensure families are supported right across the Southern Trust.
“I know the teams are committed to working, developing and shaping their services to make a difference and meet the needs of women and babies.”
