QA Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) awarded accreditation from UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative

Queen Alexandra Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has been awarded stage two accreditation from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Baby Friendly Initiative. The achievement comes three years after the unit was presented with a Certificate of Commitment as it began its journey for international recognition to become Baby Friendly.

The accreditation demonstrates the teams hard work in caring for mothers, families, and parents, particularly in the first few weeks. Teams are audited by UNICEF as they look to ensure that mothers and babies received high-quality support. What is particularly focussed on is that staff support parents to have close and loving relationships with their baby and also promoting the use of breastmilk and breastfeeding, as per the UNICEF UK standards.

Alex Dawson, NICU Feeding Lead at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust (PHU), said, “This accreditation shows how our staff have the knowledge to support the core foundations set out by UNICEF, in their worldwide accreditation process.

“I cannot stress how proud I am to work in Portsmouth NICU helping to support our families and staff. We are very proud of this achievement and what it means for mothers coming to have their babies with us. As a unit we always work hard to provide support and encouragement to the parents and their babies.  We know how much feeding means to our families, so to be recognised with this accreditation feels very special. I would like to show my appreciation to the wonderful, dedicated feeding team on NICU who have helped embed these standards of care within our team.” 

Tim Scorrer, a consultant Neonatologist at PHU, emphasised how hard the team work to ensure successful outcomes for families. He said: “We are very proud of our excellent outcomes for the babies we care for in Portsmouth. Supporting parents in their feeding choices, encouraging their involvement, and using good evidence is very important to us, and has been recognised by this achievement and the feedback we receive from parents.”

As well as auditing the team, UNICEF also received feedback from patients. One mother who had twins at QA said: “The NICU team at QA were a lifeline to me when I was struggling to breastfeed. They were my rock. I cannot explain how grateful I am for having the team around me to support my breastfeeding journey to feed my twins. The support I had was brilliant.”

Liz Rix, the chief nurse at PHU, said: “I am incredibly proud of how hard the NICU team have worked over the past few years to achieve stage two accreditation. The team are dedicated to identifying further ways to improve and should be proud of the vital role they play in providing a safe and supportive environment for those we care for.”