Midwives scoop breastfeeding award
Published 19 Jan 2012 09:30
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AWARD: Vale of Leven CMU Lead Midwife Marie Whelan with the Nicola Sturgeon
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has become the first Health Board in the UK to be awarded 100% accreditation from UNICEF for breastfeeding support.
To celebrate this unique achievement Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, honoured health staff from across Greater Glasgow and Clyde, including the Vale of Leven Hospital's team at the Community Maternity Unit (CMU).
The special awards ceremony was held at Glasgow City Chambers yesterday (Wednesday).
Ms Sturgeon said: "It is fantastic that, through the hard work and dedication of staff, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have received full accreditation - an achievement unprecedented in the UK.
"This prestigious award demonstrates their commitment to making sure every baby born in the health board area has the best possible nutritional start in life.
"Good nutrition from the earliest days of life is vitally important and breastfeeding is a key contributor to the health and well being of babies and their mothers.
The Scottish Government recognises the contribution that the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative makes to improving the care of mothers and babies and, a result of this, every single NHS Board in Scotland is working toward achieving and maintaining Baby Friendly status in both hospital and community settings.
"This has been reflected in the progress made so far nationally - 70 per cent of all births in Scotland take place in Baby Friendly accredited hospitals in comparison to 15 per cent in England."
The UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative has rigorous standards for its breastfeeding accreditation and all the units involved had to meet a strict set of criteria to ensure a high standard of care for mums and babies. NHSGGC achieved the required standards in the independent audit.
Andrew Robertson, Chairman, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "We are celebrating the unique achievement of becoming the first Board in the UK to achieve 100% UNICEF Baby Friendly accreditation across all of our services.
"Today's event acknowledges the huge amount of work over many years by staff in community and acute services to deliver the highest standards of care for women and their babies. "
This article appeared in Dumbarton & Vale of Leven Reporter 19 Jan 12
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