Staff at Hull’s birth centre are celebrating a record-breaking start to the year after the 100^th baby was born there in just six weeks.

Hessle couple Lorna Easton, 23, and Steven Clarke, 25, opted to have baby daughter Polly at the Fatima Allam Birth Centre at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.

Baby Polly arrived in the world under water on Monday, weighing 7lb 3oz, with midwife Eloise Taylor on hand.

Today, hairdresser Lorna said: “We’d heard great things about the birth centre from our friends so we were really keen to have our baby in such a relaxed environment.

“I thought a water birth would help me to relax and Eloise said it would be a great way to help.”

The birth centre – named after Fatima Allam, wife of Hull businessman and philanthropist Dr Assem Allam, in recognition of the support the Allam family has given to Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, opened in 2017.

In just three years, its birth rate has tripled as more women in Hull and the East Riding opt to have their babies at the midwifery-led unit.

Lorna Easton and baby Polly with midwife Eloise Taylor

Katie Headlam, who manages the unit, said: “To reach 100 babies in just six weeks is a phenomenal achievement and shows how popular the birth centre has become. We’re really grateful for the continuing support of the Allam family in being able to provide this wonderful service for families in Hull.

“Reaching 100 babies so quickly in 2020 shows that women feel more confident and understand they have choices about their birth, able to choose which option best suits their and their baby’s needs, and our highly skilled staff will support them.”

As well as offering women a more natural approach to child birth, the unit also has its own Continuity of Carer team of midwives – Willow – and the team supports the women through antenatal appointments, during the birth and after their babies are born.

Anyone interested in being supported by Willow or who wishes to find out more about the Fatima Allam Birth Centre should contact the Birth Centre directly on 01482 607860.

Couples preparing for the arrival of their new baby are to be given support from midwives at the next HEY Baby Carousel to cope with their child crying.

Midwives from Hull Women and Children’s Hospital will be on hand to help parents-to-be manage stress and develop coping mechanisms if their baby cries often.

People will be given the chance to watch a special DVD dedicated to helping new parents keep their baby safe as they cope with their new arrival into their lives.

Midwife Melanie Lee, who leads the Hey Baby team, said: “Looking after a baby isn’t easy, especially if the baby isn’t sleeping or feeding well or has colic.

“It’s important that parents are calm and relaxed and that their baby is always safe and this is a great way of equipping people with knowledge before their baby arrives.”

Hey Baby Carousel events are run by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the drop-in events, running from 6pm to 8pm on the last Wednesday of every month, have proved hugely popular.

Midwives and health teams trained in pregnancy support, birth, home safety and child care will be at the next Carousel at Hull Royal Infirmary’s Clinical Skills Building in Fountain Street, on Wednesday, February 26.

Women and their partners can be guided through their birth plans, making the best choice for them and their babies. They can also sign MAT B1 forms required for maternity payments for working women and to enable them to benefit from free prescriptions and dental care.

Midwives from the Fatima Allam Birth Centre also attend the event to outline the service available to women with uncomplicated pregnancies  and couples can also find out information about home or water births.

Staff from the Labour Ward at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital will also be available to answer questions women may have about their birth options on the obstetric-led unit.

Mental health teams and voluntary group Andy’s Man Club will be on hand to speak to people who may be feeling overwhelmed by the thought of parenthood.

Thousands of homes are to be sent mail shots urging people to stay away from Hull Royal Infirmary’s A&E unless they have a genuine medical emergency.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will target thousands of homes as part of its Serious Stuff campaign to urge the public to use alternative services most appropriate to their needs.

“Patient streaming” was recently introduced by the trust’s Emergency Department (ED) to re-direct people to the most appropriate service if they come to Hull Royal with anything other than serious or life-threatening illnesses or injuries.

Mailshots listing NHS services such as Urgent Treatment Centre at Bransholme and the GP walk-in service at Wilberforce Health Centre will be sent to homes with HU3 to HU9 postcodes after an audit showed people living in those areas were more likely to head to ED with less serious or minor conditions.

Emergency Department Consultant Biju Cherian

Emergency Consultant Biju Cherian said: “We are appealing to the public to help us by only coming to the Emergency Department when they are seriously ill or injured.

“We know people often come here because they don’t know where else to go so these leaflets will give them the information they need before they leave home.

“This means they can save time by going to the correct place first time around instead of coming here, only to be re-directed elsewhere as part of our new steaming system.”

Every person attending Hull’s ED is now met by a senior nurse known as a “nurse navigator” within 15 minutes to determine the most appropriate place for them to be treated.

Anyone using ED for minor illnesses and injuries because they cannot get an appointment with their GP will be re-directed to an appropriate alternative service in the community. People will be given information on where to get mental health support or help with addictions while others will be asked to seek help from their own GPs if their conditions are not serious.

The new patient streaming service is part of the trust’s plan to improve urgent and emergency care as well as supporting the winter plan when hospital admissions increase because of seasonal illnesses such as flu and respiratory conditions or major trauma linked to accidents caused by bad weather.

An additional 22 bed ward opened at the end of October and 12 extra assessment beds have been introduced at Hull Royal Infirmary to help cope with the additional demand over winter.

Staff known as “progress checkers” will also be based in the Emergency Department to work with other hospital teams to gather results or book tests so patients can be discharged home or admitted onto a ward sooner.

Joy Dodson, Director of Integrated Commissioning at NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Winter is an extremely busy time for our emergency services. The new leaflet is a great way to ensure people know where to go for minor injuries or illnesses, keeping A&E free for those with serious life or limb threatening emergencies.

“However, if someone is still not sure what to do, or where to go, I would advise they ring NHS 111 where trained advisors will assess their symptoms and direct them to the right local service.”

Hospital security staff are assisting Humberside Police after staff’s vehicles were targeted by a thief while parked at the side of Hull Royal Infirmary.

Six cars had their catalytic converters either damaged or stolen while they were parked in the staff car park on Argyle Street, across the road from Hull Royal Infirmary.

Ron Gregory, Head of Security at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Our team is working with Humberside Police to find whoever is responsible for this.

“We know the cars were targeted on Tuesday between 8am and 4pm so we are checking relevant CCTV footage to see if we can assist police in any way.”

Security patrols have been stepped up around the hospital until the thief has been caught.

An NHS boss is undertaking a tower block challenge to raise funds for a sensory room for children with sight problems and additional needs.

Chief Finance Officer Lee Bond will run up 13 floors of the tower block at Hull Royal Infirmary on Friday, February 14, to raise money for WISHH, the independent charity supporting Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Lee is currently training for the London Marathon in April with the aim of raising £10,000 for WISHH to create a sensory room at Hull and East Yorkshire Eye Hospital.

Lee said: “Our tower block is a major landmark in the city so it seems the right thing to do to run up to the top of it as part of training for one of the biggest challenges in the sporting calendar.

“It’ll take a huge amount of effort but I’m certainly up for the challenge.”

The Eye Hospital in Fountain Street looks after 15,000 children each year, providing emergency medical and surgical treatment, monitoring of eye conditions and long-term treatment.

The new sensory room will include light displays and projections, bubble tubes, wall decorations, sensory toys and music to help calm children feeling upset or anxious about their treatment.

It will also help children with conditions such as autism, ADHD or ADD.

Lee has already raised £5,500 towards his target and hopes the tower block challenge will help add to his donations. Staff and visitors will be lining the stairwell to cheer him on and throw spare change in his buckets.

Sue Lockwood, Chair of the WISHH’s Board of Trustees, said: “We are incredibly proud of Lee taking part in this challenge.

“The WISHH Charity supports staff working in our hospitals by providing the ‘added extras’ above and beyond NHS to make a difference to the patients and loved ones our hospitals care for.

“The introduction of a new sensory room will have positive effect on the children and their patients who attend the eye clinic, creating a new magical and calming environment.”

You can make a donation to Lee’s marathon challenge to help fund the sensory room.

Hospital patients and visitors are being warned they face fines of £100 if they drop cigarette butts outside Hull Royal Infirmary.

Hull City Council is enforcing anti-littering legislation at the bus stop in Anlaby Road, close to the entrance of the hospital tower block.

Fines are now being issued to people caught throwing their cigarettes on the ground in the pavement outside the hospital.

Security investigator Chris Watson, part of the trust’s security team, said: “The bus stop outside the hospital is known as a problem area where people have been dropping their cigarettes.

“This is an antisocial act and we are in full support of the council stepping up their action to send a clear message to anyone coming to our hospital that this is not acceptable behaviour.”

Both Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital are non-smoking sites with signs displayed all over the hospitals reminding people not to smoke. Staff regularly ask people to put out their cigarettes when they are spotted smoking near the entrances to wards and departments.

The trust is now using the council’s action to step up its bid to prevent people sparking up on hospital grounds.

Mr Watson said: “We would like to remind smokers our hospitals are non-smoking sites and people coming here, whether they are sick or to visit a sick friend or relative, should not have to walk through clouds of their smoke to get into our buildings.

“Anyone caught smoking on our grounds will be asked to put out their cigarettes and dispose of them in the appropriate ashtrays.”

More than £100,000 of funding has been awarded to help improve accessibility, privacy and dignity for disabled people using local hospitals.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will receive £105,000 of government funding to create four new ‘Changing Places’ facilities across both Hull Royal infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital.

Hull receives the lion’s share of half a million pounds of capital funding being awarded to ten NHS Trusts today.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will match-fund the money received, and create Changing Places in the main entrance to Castle Hill Hospital (above) and near to the main hospital restaurant, as well as in the Emergency Department at Hull Royal Infirmary and within HRI’s Clinical Skills Building.

Alex Best, Capital Development Manager for the trust says:

“The current lack of ‘Changing Places’ facilities across out hospital estate is an issue which has not only been raised through our partners at East Yorkshire Disability Advisory Group, with whom we work closely on such matters, but which has also been highlighted in previous patient-led inspections of our hospitals.

“We’re extremely pleased to have been awarded funding to support Changing Places as this means we can now further improve accessibility for disabled visitors across both of our hospital sites.”

The Clinical Skills Building at Hull Royal Infirmary will house one of four new Changing Places

Work to create the Changing Places will begin next month, starting in ED and at Castle Hill Hospital’s main entrance.  Each Changing Place will feature a disabled WC and wash basin, ceiling track hoist, height adjustable changing benches and an assistance alarm. Work will start on the subsequent two facilities in the Clinical Skills Building and by Castle Hill’s Nightingales restaurant in April.

There are currently only around 40 Changing Places on NHS premises across England but, over time, this tranche of funding will see the total number increase to more than 100.

Alex continues:

“We’re really pleased to be able to start work on our new Changing Places facilities. They’re important as not only will they improve the offering that we are able to make to disabled patients, staff and visitors using our hospitals, but they will also serve as facilities for the wider local communities of Hull and Cottingham.”

For more information in Changing Places, visit www.changing-places.org

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 Paediatric emergency consultant Dr Liz Herrieven has told how her teenage daughter’s dual diagnosis of Down’s syndrome and autism has had a positive impact on her life.

Dr Herrieven has taken part in the Shifting Perspectives Podcast to talk about life with 13-year-old daughter Amy.

She explained how life-threatening illnesses when Amy was younger has helped her role as a consultant in emergency medicine at Hull Royal Infirmary, given her great insight into what it’s like to be the parent of a seriously ill child.

In a message to parents of children with Down’s syndrome, Dr Herrieven said:  “Take one step at a time, particularly in the early days. Be kind to yourself. It’s ok to feel things are awful, it’s ok to be sad and it’s ok to have that grieving process.

“You will get through the other end. There will be good days and there will be bad days but, in the end, you will have far more good days than bad.

“Your family may not look like the wonderful family on the front of all the parenting magazines but, actually, your family is your family – unique and special to you.

“Don’t worry what anyone else is doing.”

The podcasts have been produced by the Down’s Syndrome Association and hosted by photographer Richard Bailey to share stories of people with Down’s syndrome as well as of their families and carers.

Amy was born 10 weeks early and spent her first few months in neonatal intensive care. In her early years, she spent weeks in high dependency and intensive care units with life-threatening illnesses including severe chest infections, pneumonia and sepsis.

Dr Herrieven said: “I was so used to being on the other side, being the one that makes the decisions.

“Suddenly, I had lost control and it was my small child lying there. That taught me a massive amount of what it’s like to be on the receiving end of challenging news.”

Amy was diagnosed with autism at the age of eight, enabling her family to make adjustments to make life easier by reducing her levels of anxiety.

While looking after Amy’s needs, Dr Herrieven and her husband ensure Amy’s eight-year-old brother Toby has time for fun and the family sticks to familiar routines to help Amy such as going to the same place on holiday every year.

“Amy is Amy and Down’s syndrome is part of her,” Dr Herrieven said.

“Although we have changed our expectations, we still manage to have a really good family life.”

Dr Herrieven realised being Amy’s mum could help other medical professionals in the treatment of people with Down’s syndrome.

Together with Linda Dykes, an emergency medicine consultant and GP in Bangor, she has produced an infographic for other clinicians with top tips on triaging and treating children with Down’s syndrome.

The infographic has received 100,000 hits and has led to Dr Herrieven blogging for the Royal College of Emergency Medicine as well as speaking at a conference of paramedics.

Dr Herrieven is also working hard to challenge “diagnostic overshadowing” when the judgement of medical professionals is clouded by a person’s condition.

She said: “As medical professionals, we tend to use scoring systems and lists of signs and symptoms to see how sick a person is but sometimes, these things don’t work and that’s particularly true of people with Down’s syndrome.”

Dr Herrieven called on doctors to consider “soft signs” where a person’s behaviour has changed, such as they are not interested in something which normally engages or distracts them.

She said: “Families are probably better than medical professionals at recognising these things and it will be different for every person.

“We need to start listening to these things families are telling us about when someone’s behaviour is different.”

You can hear Dr Herrieven’s podcast through the Down’s Syndrome Association website.

The driving force behind the transformation of maternity services is coming to Hull to see changes attracting national attention.

Baroness Julia Cumberlege CBE chaired the major NHS review of maternity services which led to the publication of the “Better Births” report in 2016.

Now, the Conservative peer is coming to Hull Women and Children’s Hospital this week to meet the midwives introducing sweeping changes to the way they look after pregnant women.

Baroness Julia Cumberlege

Janet Cairns, Head of Midwifery at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “It is a great honour for us to welcome Baroness Cumberlege to see our new practices.

“Our team has responded really well to the recommendations in the “Better Births” report and we have received very positive feedback on the work we have undertaken so far. New ways of working are now embedded across our service to help women make the best choices for them and their babies.”

NHS England commissioned a national maternity review called “Better Births – Improving outcomes of maternity services in England” and the report in 2016 produced seven key recommendations.

More personalised care, better postnatal and perinatal mental health care and “continuity of carer”, where every woman has the same midwife through pregnancy, were among those key recommendations.

The trust has introduced four Continuity of Carer teams in the past 14 months, with another four about to be introduced.

The Ivy Team looks after mothers in Beverley , the Primrose Team (above) cares for women with additional needs in East Hull, Willow supports women planning to give birth at the midwifery-led Fatima Allam Birth Centre and Linnea helps women expecting more than one baby.

Four new teams will be introduced in the coming weeks – Rainbow, for mothers expecting a baby after a miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of a child shortly after birth; Lavender for women who require additional emotional support; Fern for women with diabetes and the Fetal Medicine team for women whose babies require support in the womb.

Baroness Cumberlege was junior health minister and the Government‘s spokeswoman in the House of Lords and will visit the trust on Thursday.

She will be taken on the tour of the hospital by Janet Cairns and Lead Midwife Lorraine Cooper, meeting staff at Rowan and Maple Wards, the Antenatal Day Unit and the Labour Ward as well as the Fatima Allam Birth Centre.

She will also be introduced to some of the midwives working in the Continuity of Carer teams to find out more about their work and meet some of the families they have helped.

Lorraine Cooper said: “We have thought hard about how best to support the women of Hull and our teams reflect the population we look after so our Continuity of Carer teams are different to many other cities.

“Feedback from women supported by the new teams tells us they feel more able to build good relationships with their midwife, which benefits both the woman and the baby.

“We are looking forward to showing Baroness Cumberlege the work we have undertaken and meeting the midwives who are providing such an important service.”

 Families are being asked to bring their own bottles and formula milk into hospital to reduce the risk of infection among newborn babies.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is advising parents-to-be that it will no longer be providing bottles or teats if they opt to bottle-feed their babies.

The change is being introduced to follow infection control guidance and to protect all infants on the wards at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.

Janet Cairns, Head of Midwifery, said: “If parents opt to bottle feed their babies, we’re asking them to bring in small, prepared single-use feeds as we will no longer hold a stock of bottles, teats or formula milk in the hospital.

“Previously, we allowed families to decant milk into bottles but spilt milk was not being cleared up. This was causing contamination of the cupboards below and introducing the risk of potential infection issues.”

As well as ending the contamination of ward cupboard, the new rules will help new families by protecting privacy and dignity of everyone on the ward.

Janet Cairns said: “Having their own bottles of formula milk will stop mums and their birth partners having to move away from their babies to make up feeds, especially at night.

“It also means other families won’t be disturbed, improving the privacy and dignity for everyone on our wards.”