24th May 2021
The Southern Trust’s elective caesarean section maternity team is celebrating its first birthday.
Set up to ensure that planned caesarean sections could safely continue throughout the pandemic, the team of obstetricians, anaesthetists, midwives, nurses and maternity support workers from both Craigavon and Daisy Hill came together to run the service from the maternity theatre at Daisy Hill.
The team delivered 687 babies by caesarean section in their first year of weekly sessions.
Congratulating them on their success, Barry Conway, Assistant Director for Integrated Maternity and Women’s Health for the Southern Trust says: “The elective maternity team is definitely one of the many success stories that has come out of the pandemic and a brilliant example of how our staff have gone above and beyond to ensure that essential services could continue.
“Initially designated as our ‘covid free’ hospital and to help reduce activity at Craigavon, it was agreed that Daisy Hill would be the safest location for all planned caesarean procedures. A number of staff who hadn’t worked together before, including some redeployed from other roles, came together to set up this new Trust wide service.
“We have received fantastic feedback from women from right across the Southern Trust area about their birth experience at Daisy Hill during this time, which is an absolute testament to the team’s compassion and dedication to their patients.”
Joanne McGlade, Lead Midwife added: “Well done to everyone involved, this has been such a huge team effort over the past year from everyone involved in the mothers and babies journey. From preassessment, during their time in theatre, their postnatal stay on the ward, to the community midwives visiting the family at home – all working together to ensure a safe delivery and give these babies the best start in life.”
Anaesthetists and Obstetricians from both Daisy Hill and Craigavon continue to support the service.
The team would like to acknowledge their colleagues from other areas who helped to set up this service. Many of whom have now returned to their usual roles. Midwives: Shivaun Mc Kinley (Bereavement Midwife), Donna Mc Loughlin(CTG Co-Ordinator) Joan Hagan, Annemarie Hanna, Rachel Gibson and Judith Aiken. Staff Nurses: Jenny Walsh and Mary Malone.