After rigorous assessments in July, we can now proudly announce that the Yeovil Hospital maternity team achieved reaccreditation for the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI).
This is an important accreditation to mention as the BFI establishes high-quality care for public services to deliver support for families from feeding to developing loving relationships; giving our new families the very best start.
Considering the difficulties presented with the pandemic lockdowns, this is an impressive feat performed by the team and comes as no surprise that UNICEF were praising in their report. With the hard, dedicated work of all those in the Maternity team and through the upstanding care provided, we are excited to try our hand for the Gold standard next year.
UNICEF stated that: “The staff at Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are commended for their hard work over the last two years in continuing to support mothers. It was clear to the assessment team, that in many areas pregnant women and new mothers receive a high standard of care.”
Cher Smith, Infant Feeding Midwifery Clinical Leader said “I am really proud of all the staff and the feedback from UNICEF was glowing. The Maternity team has all worked really hard to maintain the BFI standards throughout the pandemic. This result shows what an amazing team we have here that, despite the odds, we have achieved our reaccreditation and we are ready to move forwards and go for the prestigious Gold award.”
With 82% of mothers reporting that they were ‘very happy with care’ it is no surprise that UNICEF were impressed enough to say: “There is a real desire to maintain a high level of support for all the new mothers and infants and all staff demonstrated enthusiasm to uphold the Baby Friendly Standards.”
Chief Nurse Hayley Peters said “A rewarding accreditation that proves the commitment of our Maternity team. This is the foundation that we build on to provide excellent healthcare to new mothers and infants and it is amazing that we have proven that in adversity, we rise to the challenge and achieve our best. Well done to the whole team!”
