Leeds healthcare service awarded gold status for care towards pregnant women in city

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s Health Visiting Service, part of the 0-19 Public Health Integrated Nursing Service, has been re-awarded gold status by Unicef UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI).

Working in partnership with Leeds City Council and Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, this is the third year that the service has been awarded gold status.

Maintaining this status reflects the continuous high standards in Leeds, the service said.

Nigel Hodgkins, Head of the 0-19 Public Health Integrated Nursing Service, said: “Achieving the UNICEF BFI Gold Award is something I am immensely proud of, it is a testament to the dedication of our 0-19 Public Health Integrated Nursing Service (PHINS) colleagues and our partners alike.

"I believe this is a fitting acknowledgment of the quality of care and commitment to the breastfeeding agenda and support of early parenting in Leeds. We look forward to continuing our high standards of work, striving to continually improve and working hard to maintain our gold status.”

The UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) standards are designed to support infant feeding practice, as well as parent and infant relationships.

BFI supports parents to have close and loving relationships with their baby and feed their baby in ways which will support optimum health and development.

Sally Goodwin-Mills, Advanced Health Improvement Specialist, Public Health, said: “It is such an achievement for an organisation to achieve BFI Gold (achieving sustainability) at any time, however, pressures have been unprecedented during Covid-19 and practitioners have shown great tenacity and drive to continue to maintain such high standards in very challenging circumstances.

“I am privileged to work with passionate people, who have gone above and beyond to ensure that work has continued so that families have received the best possible care, support and information regarding infant feeding and parent-infant relationships.”