The maternity team at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) has received the prestigious gold award as part of UNICEF’s Baby Friendly Initiative.
The initiative is based on a set of evidence-based standards which are designed to support families with feeding and developing close, loving relationships, to support with optimum health and development.
The maternity department has been accredited as baby friendly since 2016, and were assessed in December (2022) to ensure that standards and leadership were sustained.
The gold award is the highest level of accreditation and PAHT is one of only 16 acute hospitals across the UK to achieve the gold award.
Extracts from the assessment report include: “PAHT is highly commended for the quality of the evidence submitted and the thorough way in which the processes to embed and further develop care related to the Baby Friendly standards has been planned and implemented.
“It is evident that there is robust leadership for the implementation and maintenance of the standards with examples of supporting mothers and colleagues across all settings and close working relationships with key partners.
“A number of projects were submitted under the progression theme which were underpinned by quality improvement methodology. The whole team are commended for the overall submission.”
Giuseppe Labriola, director of midwifery, gynaecology, and assistant chief nurse at PAHT, said: “I am incredibly proud to see the team recognised for their hard work and dedication.
“The award reflects our long-standing commitment to supporting breastfeeding and helping parents to build close and loving relationships with their baby, irrespective of feeding method.
“The team is committed to continue to working, developing and shaping the service to make a difference and meet the needs of women and pregnant people.”