Frontline hospital staff have been inundated in the past few days with people turning up at Hull’s Emergency Department with coughs, colds and minor injuries.

Hull Royal Infirmary’s Emergency Department has seen more than 400 people a day this week, with around 50 per cent seeking care for minor injuries and illnesses.

However, fewer than 10 per cent have required hospital admissions, underlining the fact that most could have gone to their GPs, attended an urgent care centre, seen their pharmacist or taken care of their own symptoms at home instead of heading for Hull Royal.

One man turned up for treatment for a sore finger, injured in a drunken fall several months ago, some have come because they’ve been asked to wait for an appointment with GP while others have ignored advice and turned up at hospital with diarrhoea and vomiting, risking its spread to already vulnerable patients with much more serious conditions.

Now, Teresa Cope, Chief Operating Officer of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, is appealing to people to use alternatives to the Emergency Department this weekend to ensure emergency staff are free to help the seriously ill and dying.

She said: “We’re seeing around 250 people a day walk into the Emergency Department and another 150 people arrive by ambulance it’s fair to say a large proportion of those could have been seen more rapidly and just as safely by alternatives services in the community.

“There has been a steady increase in attendances of people with minor injuries and illnesses in the past week which has placed huge pressure on our staff and services.

“We are still seeing large numbers of very sick people requiring admission to hospital. Our staff are working around the clock to discharge people well enough to go home so we have enough beds for those who need to come in.

“The people of Hull and East Riding an play a major role in helping us by ensuring they only come to the Emergency Department with serious or life-threatening conditions and use urgent care or urgent treatment centres, the GP walk-in service at Wilberforce Health Centre only if you can’t get to see your own GP or visit your pharmacist for everything else.”

The trust is running its #SeriousStuff campaign to urge people to use alternative services instead of heading to A&E with minor complaints.

We’ve revealed how frontline emergency teams have been asked to squeeze blackheads, remove false nails and treat people for sniffles and minor bugs which could easily be treated at home.

Hull has a 24-hour Urgent Care Centre at Bransholme Health Centre and there are three new Urgent Treatment Centres, open 16 hours a day, at Goole, Bridlington and Beverley.

If you live in the East Riding, you can visit www.eastridingofyorkshireccg.nhs.uk/choose-well/ to discover alternatives to A&E in your area.

People living in Hull can visit www.hullccg.nhs.uk/find-local-services/ to find out about other health services in the city.

Divisional general manager Matt Storey

Matt Storey, Divisional General Manager for Emergency and Acute Medicine, praised hospital teams for their dedication in responding to the current pressures.

He said: “We’ve got a fantastic team and they’re working flat out round the clock to help as many people as they can.

“All we are asking is that people help themselves and help others by using the best health service for their problem.  We have great urgent care services in Hull and the East Riding – if you’re not sure what to do you can access information via the internet or call NHS111. This frees up our time at Hull Royal to look after the sickest people and their families who really need our help.

“In general, people know when they’ve got a serious illness or when it’s something that can be treated elsewhere. If you’ve had something for a while, it’s a pretty safe bet that it’s not something you need to come to hospital with and not being able to get an appointment with your GP is not a reason to head for A&E.

“All you are doing is putting other people’s lives at risk because our staff won’t be available to those who need us most.”

Two hospital pathology workers have undergone life-saving liver transplants within a year.

Senior biomedical scientist Mandy Hultum, 54, and medical laboratory assistant Helen Sharp, 35, both received liver transplants almost exactly a year apart.

The women, who worked for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, say the support from each other and their workmates helped their recovery.

Mandy said: “I couldn’t believe it when I heard someone who worked in the same place needed a liver transplant too. I was so relieved when Helen got her transplant too.”

Helen said Mandy’s experience gave her hope while she was on the transplant list.

“You can speak to other people about it but no-one can really understand unless they’ve been through it,” She said. “Mandy and I become good friends and still see each other for a coffee and a catch up,”

Mandy was diagnosed with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), a rare disease classified as a cancer, around 15 years ago.

She developed primary scelorising cholangitis (PSC) in summer 2015 and underwent a liver transplant at St James’s Hospital in Leeds on Easter Sunday 2016 after three false alarms.

She was back working in the pathology department when she discovered Helen also needed a transplant.

Mandy said: “I knew Helen by sight but we met up a few times and I hope I was able to help her.”

Helen, who lives in Hull with husband Richard and their two children Joshua, 7, and three-year-old Ruby, had Crohn’s disease. Blood tests highlighted problems with her liver function and doctors discovered she had primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).

Although she had already lost five stone through Slimming World, Helen lost her appetite, became jaundiced and lethargic and went off sick.

Her friend and workmate Sharon Newlove put her in contact with Mandy, then recovering from the transplant.

After three months on the waiting list, Helen received the call to say a suitable liver has been found and she underwent transplant surgery in March 13, 2017, after two false alarms.

“My life has changed completely,” Helen said. “I feel fantastic.

“I can do stuff with my kids now when, before, they would know Mummy wasn’t feeling good so had to go to bed.”

Touched by their friends’ experience, staff in the pathology department were determined to raise awareness and increase the names on the organ donor register.

Sharon Newlove, a supervisor at blood sciences, teamed up with medical lab assistant Karen Hudson to arrange a charity football match against Hull City veterans and a variety show at the Northern Academy of Performing Arts earlier this year, raising £1,728.

Sharon said: “We thought there was something more we could do to help and what started out as a peanut of an idea became this big thing.

“The response was just so amazing and we can’t thank the people who supported us and our friends enough.”

Some of the money will be used to buy a television for transplant patients visiting the Bexley Wing at St James’s Hospital and some will be given to the trust’s own transplant team, which recently achieved its most successful year after 35 families agreed to donate organs from their loved ones.

Mandy said: “It’s meant such a lot to see what our workmates have done. I can’t find the words to say how much I appreciate it.”

Helen said: “I want to do whatever I can to promote organ donation and I’m really grateful to the people at work. They’ve been brilliant.”

Mums-to-be are to be offered a vaccine to protect their new-born babies from whooping cough.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is to become one of the first hospital trusts in the country to offer women the vaccine in a hospital setting.

Having the vaccine means babies will receive vital immunity from their mothers to protect them from the serious infection until they are old enough to receive the routine vaccination at eight weeks old.

Healthy lifestyles midwife Caroline Clark is one of 10 midwives trained to administer the injection from this week when women come to Hull Women and Children’s Hospital after their 20-week scan.

She said: “Women who have the vaccine are protecting their babies from what can be a very serious condition with major complications. Whooping cough has claimed the lives of babies in the past and vaccination is essential protection for those first few weeks.

“This vaccine has been tested on 18,000 women with no risk to the mother or baby identified so we are hoping as many women as possible will get vaccinated.”

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious bacterial infection affecting the lungs and airways.

It can be life-threatening in young babies, with those under six months at particular risk of complications and usually requiring hospital admission if they contract the infection.

During coughing fits, some babies can gasp for breath, causing the whooping sound that gives the condition its name. They can also turn blue, known as cyanosis.

The trust is providing the whooping cough vaccine as part of a programme introduced by the Department of Health following a national outbreak in 2012.

Its midwives were among the first in England to be trained to administer the flu vaccine at the end of last year and their training has now been extended to cover whooping cough.

Other countries including the US, Argentina, Belgium, Spain, Australia and New Zealand also offer the vaccine to pregnant women.

Around 18,000 women who received the vaccine have been studied by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and no evidence was found of any risk to the pregnancy or the baby.

Numbers of confirmed cases have plummeted since the vaccine for pregnant women was introduced in October 2012. Between July and September last year, there were 1,322 confirmed cases in England compared to 3,519 in 2012.

In 2012, 147 babies under the age of three months caught whooping cough but it fell to 39 cases between July and September 2017.

Of the 18 babies dying of whooping cough since the introduction of the vaccine for pregnancy women in 2012, 16 were born to mothers who had not been vaccinated against the condition.

Between April and June last year, more than 72 per cent of eligible women received the whooping cough vaccine. No babies died of pertussis between January and September 2017.

Caroline Clark said the team will be based in the antenatal clinic and the vaccine will be offered to women when they come to hospital for antenatal appointments, blood tests or to see consultants.

Plans are for the vaccination programme to be extended to women attending the antenatal day unit.

Caroline said the injection in the woman’s arm can be administered from 16 weeks up until the end of the pregnancy.

“We can give it to women right up until delivery but it may be less effective after 38 weeks,” she said. “It is far better for women to have it between 16-32 weeks so their baby gets maximum protection and in case they go into labour early.

“Before, women would have to go to their GP to be vaccinated against whooping cough so it’s great that midwives are now able to offer this service here at the hospital.”

A Hull mum has told how a special team of neonatal nurses and midwives supported her after her baby daughter was born six weeks early.

Emily Kelsey, 23, went into labour and gave birth to baby Aria on April 6 when she was 34  weeks into her pregnancy.

Weighing just over 1.8kg or four pounds, Aria and Emily spent six days in Transitional Care, a four-cot unit on postnatal Rowan Ward at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.

Transitional Care is where mothers can stay with their new-born babies for additional support from neonatal nurses before they are ready to go home. Most mothers stay in the unit for a few days although the longest stay has been two weeks.

Emily, now home in Park Avenue with baby Aria, partner Jonathan and two-year-old son Elijah, said: “The support I got was phenomenal.  I could ask anything and the nurses were always there to help.

“I had to check Aria’s stomach acid using a syringe put into her belly before feeding and I was a bit worried about doing it at first. But I learned how to do it with their support and it gave me confidence to do it on my own.”

Nursing staff at Hull’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) began supporting transitional care in November 2017 on a dedicated area of the postnatal ward, ensuring the best care could be given to babies and their families in the most appropriate place.

Neonatal nurses at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust provide specialist care for babies, who could require nasogastric tubes for feeding or drugs through IV drips, in the first few days after birth while midwives provide crucial support for the mum.

TC lead Katy Nicholson, who is also the neonatal feeding co-ordinator, said: “Transitional Care is an in-between stage where the baby is not yet ready to go home and still needs some extra support with feeding and growing.

“The neonatal nurses work with the midwives to empower the mum in becoming the sole carer..

“The babies have to meet certain criteria for Transitional Care, such as being born at a minimum of 34 weeks and weighing from 1.6kg upwards. The maximum medical support needed for TC babies is tube feeding, IV antibiotics or phototherapy if they are jaundiced.”

Baby Aria

Transitional Care means neonatal ICU nurses and midwives work closely together, ensuring effective communication between our two teams and services to provide the best care for both mother and baby. It ensures additional support is there for families whose babies require an extra level of nursing before going home.

As the service evolves, the plan is for families of babies on NICU to use Transitional Care as a “step down” from the high intensity nursing environment, allowing other sick babies to be transferred onto the unit.

It also means parents can gain confidence in looking after babies born prematurely or with additional needs before they are discharged.

Katy Nicholson, who has worked at the trust for 22 years, said: “Transitional Care means neonatal services  and maternity are working closely together, ensuring effective communication between our two teams and services to provide the best care for both mother and baby.

“It means mothers and babies are not separated and can stay together, breastfeeding and expressing of breast milk can be established more effectively and families gain the confidence in looking after babies with special care needs before they go home.

“Babies are discharged home quicker due to the support they are receiving.”

A mum has told how her twin sons are winning their fights for life after they were born 15 weeks early.

Kelli Lawless went into labour when she was just 25 weeks and five days’ pregnant and delivered her sons by emergency caesarean section at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital

Son Jai was born first followed by brother Khal. Both boys weighed just 790g each or 1lb 11 oz.

Now, as her sons left Hull’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Kelli and partner David thanked staff for saving their sons’ lives.

“We were taking it hour by hour at the start, not knowing if the boys would make it,” Kelli said. “The staff in NICU are just absolutely amazing.

“It was mind-blowing at the start, with all the machines and the beeping and everything else that goes on. But the nurses were so kind and looked after us as well as Jai and Khal.

“There aren’t the words to thank them enough.”

Baby Jai

Kelli has five other children – Kadie, 20, Kacie, 18, Jodeci, 14, Kory, 9, and three-year-old Ko-dee – and was over the moon when she and David discovered they were expecting twins.

The couple, who live at Patrington Haven, were given an expected due date of April 14 but when she woke up on January 4, Kelli discovered she was bleeding slightly.

“I thought it was a water infection but I went to hospital for a check-up anyway,” she said. “With this pregnancy being twins, they keep a close eye on you but I still felt ok.”

Tests at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital showed no sign of infection but midwives discovered Kelli was two centimetres dilated and started monitoring her.

“I was having what I thought were Braxton Hicks because I knew it was way too early for me to be having the babies,” she said.

“I hadn’t even bought a single thing for them because I was just getting Christmas and New Year out of the way. I still had four months to go and I thought I’d loads of time.”

She was taken to the hospital’s labour ward where staff monitored her and the babies every 15 minutes. However, after what felt like a stomach cramp, a scan was carried out what showed one of the babies was lying in a breech position.

Staff immediately prepared Kelli for an emergency caesarean section and David’s mother arrived in the operating theatre just in time to see Jai born while David stayed at home with the couple’s children.

Jai had chest  compressions  while Khal was born two minutes later and both boys were rushed to NICU immediately as the battle began to save them.

Baby Khal

Kelli did not see her sons for six hours although David was able to come in and be with them while she recovered from major surgery.

“It was just like being caught in a whirlwind,” she said. “Everything happened so quickly. I came in, was in labour, was in theatre, the babies were taken past me and I couldn’t see them properly. I didn’t have time to think.”

Kelli will never forget the first time she saw her sons.

“They were just so tiny,” she said. “There are all these machines and the constant beeping. It’s quite scary and it was a bit mind-blowing. But the staff were so fantastic.

“You take things for granted. You never see this side of giving birth until you have to and then you are so grateful they are there.”

Jai thrived in the first week while Khal was very poorly, suffering a bowel perforation and undergoing surgery.

“We nearly lost him then,” said Kelli. “They called us in and asked if we wanted him to be blessed as they weren’t sure if he’d make it or not. But the nurses were shocked by how quickly he began to pick up.”

As Khal recovered, Jai’s condition took a turn for the worse, suffering a severe lung infection and chronic lung disease.

At one stage, he flat-lined, requiring adrenalin to bring him back and he developed pneumonia.

“It was touch and go more than once,” said Kelli.

At the end of February, Jai was taken off the ventilator as his condition improved and he is now doing well.

Both boys have continued to put on weight with Khal weighing 1.5kg (3lbs 5oz) and Jai weighing 1.3kg (2lb 13oz) by the start of March.

Kelli said: “We’re just watching them grow.

“The staff in NICU are just incredible. One nurse, Natalie Cook, stayed with Jai for four nights in a row and she has quite a bond with him. You cannot fail to be so grateful for all they do.”

Hospital staff caring for elderly patients are appealing to families to bring spare clothes to hospital so their loved ones can get home sooner.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is taking part in #EndPJParalysis, a 70-day initiative to get patients into their day clothes to promote quicker recovery.

Studies have shown that an older person will lose 10 per cent of their muscle mass with every week spent in a hospital bed and that just 10 days of bed rest for an older person is equivalent to 10 years of muscle ageing. A report on frailty last year also discovered three-quarters of patients die in hospital if their mobility declines during their first two days of hospital admission.

Now, the Department of Medical Elderly at Hull Royal Infirmary is aiming to have 50 per cent of patients in their normal clothes by the 70^th anniversary of the NHS on July 5.

Senior Matron Stacey Healand leads a nursing team caring for more than 100 patients at any one time on wards 8, 80 and 90, the “Progression to Discharge” Unit (PDU) and the Elderly Assessment Unit (EAU).

She said: “I don’t think families realise the impact that being in hospital can have on older people.

“The quicker we can get them home and back in a normal routine, the less effect a hospital stay will have on their loved ones.

“The longer a patient is in hospital, the greater the risk of infection so it’s in their best interests to get them out of hospital more quickly.”

The trust launched #EndPJParalysis on April 17 where nursing staff are using a special app on mobile devices to record how many patients are wearing normal, everyday clothes instead of their pyjamas.

The aim of the initiative is to achieve one million bed days where patients are out of their nightwear and in their daytime clothes, providing they are well enough. as part of their rehabilitation.

The Department of Medical Elderly cares for older patients with a complex medical history including dementia, falls, continence, and patients at the end of life. Staff look after people with a vast range of medical conditions who cannot feed, wash or look after themselves.

Dr Kirsten Richards, consultant physician and Clinical Director for Elderly Medicine, adapted the #EndPJParalysis initiative to suit older patients following telephone conversations with New Zealand-based Professor Brian Dolan who was responsible for initiating the original social media #EndPJParalysis campaign.

Stacey Healand said: “She felt some patients might be frightened by the term ‘paralysis’ so we’re calling it ‘Get up, get dressed and keep moving’.”

She said families and care home staff have a key role to play in bringing spare clothes into hospital when an elderly relative is admitted and ensuring they are taken away for washing.

“Most of our patients are admitted in their nightwear and dressing gowns and we sometimes have to contact families four or five times before they will bring in spare clothes,” she said.

“People are used to seeing patients in pyjamas but we’re asking for families to help us because it will be far better for their loved ones.

“We do not have the facilities to wash clothes here so we’re asking families to help us because it will be such a benefit to their relatives.”

Stacey said wearing their own clothes in hospital helped patients feel more positive about their recovery.

She said: “Wearing pyjamas or hospital gowns makes a patient feel they are more ill and need to take to their bed, whereas a patient wearing their own clothes feels that they are getting better.

“They are more likely to keep moving and will lose less muscle strength, giving them far more chance of maintaining their independence once they leave hospital.”

Midwives are revealing their passion for their jobs to mark this year’s International Day of the Midwife.

Staff at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital will use a specially designed photo frame bearing the messages “I love being a midwife because…” and “I love being a midwifery assistant because…” to take selfies and explain why they love their jobs to mark the global day of celebration.

Nikola Donner (left) and Jessyka Jackson

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will then post the selfies and the midwives’ and midwifery assistants’ stories on Facebook and Twitter as teams around the world join in the event on Saturday.

Midwife Nikola Donner, who works as a rotational midwife on all the wards, came up with the idea with Jessyka Jackson, who works on Rowan Ward, Rachael Edwards, who also works as a rotational midwife, and clinical governance midwife Jennifer Moverley.

All Royal College of Midwives (RCM) officials, the women will tour the antenatal clinic, antenatal wards, delivery ward, post natal ward and community midwives’ office this week to collect the views and selfies of staff taking part.

Nikola said: “We just thought this was a good way of celebrating what we do and explaining why we love the job of being a midwife.

“It’s a fantastic honour to be with women and their families at such a special time in their lives.

“We’ll then collect all the selfies and transfer them onto posters for the wall so everyone can see how we feel about being a midwife.”

Head of Midwifery Janet Cairns

Head of midwifery Janet Cairns said the trust would be sharing the midwives’ selfies on its social media pages to highlight the passion staff felt for their roles.

She said: “Being a midwife is an absolute privilege, being with, and caring for women and their families at such an important time is just fantastic.

“This is a great way of sharing the views of our dedicated team who are there for women from all over Hull and the East Riding as such an important time in their lives.”

Thieves have stolen memorabilia from a hospital waiting room set up to help patients with memory problems.

Staff in the Fracture Clinic at Hull Royal Infirmary set up the memory area in the style of a front room from the 1960s and 1970s to ensure patients living with dementia could feel calm before attending appointments.

Clinical support worker Kerry Morten, who has worked at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for 18 years, collected household memorabilia from tea pots, dishes, ornaments and furniture to create an authentic area for patients to relax in before they are treated or even to have their treatment carried out in less stressful situations.

She said: “We created a front room with authentic wall-paper, furniture and ornaments donated by people or brought in by staff.  We’re so grateful to everyone who has helped us.

“We’ve noticed, over the past few months, that things are going walkabout. We’ve bought books with old photographs of Hull with our own money and they’ve gone.

“Someone gave us a tea set and half of that has gone missing, with the teapot and even the tea cosy being taken.

“We even had a load of old newspapers dating back from the early 1900s handed into us and someone’s taken them too.

“I just don’t know how people could do that. They must know who this area is for but they’ve just decided they’re having the stuff and that’s that. I don’t have the words to describe how I feel about these people.”

The Fracture Clinic is based on the ground floor of the tower block and sees around 600 patients every week, with a further 600 patients seen by some of the 35-strong team in the orthopaedics outpatients’ department.

People come to the clinic after breaking bones and to have their bones set in plaster casts to help them mend.

Staff working in the Fracture Clinic are now appealing to the public who come to the area for appointments to leave the items in the “front room” so the patients living with memory problems can benefit.

Kerry said: “Looking at photographs they remember or images they recognise can help people feel calmer and take their minds off the reason why they’ve come to the Fracture Clinic.

“Not only does that help the patients, it also helps the staff but we can’t keep providing this area of calm if people keep stealing the furniture, books and ornaments.

“I’d ask people to think twice before they put something in their pockets that could help someone in far more need than they are.”

Midwives at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust answer your questions as part of our on-going work to support women at every stage of their pregnancy, through the birth and beyond after your baby’s arrival.

What’s happening to my baby?

By 13 weeks, your baby weighs around 25g

Just two weeks later, at Week 15, they can hear muted sounds from the outside world as well as the sound of your voice and heart.

Their eyes also become sensitive to light, even though their eyes are shut, and they can register a bright light outside your stomach.

At 20 weeks pregnant, you’re halfway through your pregnancy. You might feel your baby move for the first time when you’re around 17 or 18 weeks pregnant. Most first-time mums notice the first movements when they’re between 18 and 20 weeks pregnant.

By 21 weeks, your baby weighs around 350g. From about this stage onwards, your baby will weigh more than the placenta, which is feeding your baby with all the nutrients it needs.  Until now, the placenta was heavier than your baby. The placenta will keep growing throughout pregnancy, but not as fast as your baby.

By the end of the second trimester your baby’s eyelids open for the first time and she or he will soon start blinking. However, it’s not until some weeks after the birth that your baby’s eyes become the colour they will stay.

 What about me?

Most women say this is the time when their pregnancy starts to feel real. You might just have told your family and friends after your first scan and trying to keep those feelings of sickness and tiredness to yourself.

The good news is most women should start to feel better when you move into the period between the 13^th and 28^th week of pregnancy, known as the second trimester.

Those feelings of tiredness associated with early pregnancy are probably subsiding. If you’ve experienced morning sickness in the first few weeks, chances are you’ll be feeling better now.

You might have an increased sex drive as a result of pregnancy hormones or increased blood flow to the pelvic area but lots of women don’t get this so don’t feel there’s anything wrong.

A small bump is beginning to emerge and the urge to go for a wee more often will subside, although not altogether.

 What tests will I be offered?

You’ll be offered your second ultrasound scan at around 20 weeks. This scan is part of the screening programme and is to check for abnormalities in the baby. Your midwife will give you information about this and answer any questions you may have.

The sonographers may be able to inform you at this scan whether you are having a boy or a girl once they have completed the detailed observation of your baby.

Photographs of the scans at 20 weeks, costing £8, can be obtained from the machine in the foyer of the Women and Children’s Hospital. You can use either cash or a card and order as many copies as you would like.

At your 28-week appointment, you will be offered a blood test. The tests routinely offered are a full blood count to check iron levels, white cell count and platelets and a blood grouping and antibodies to ensure you haven’t developed any antibodies in your pregnancy.

Seeing the midwife

You will see the midwife at between 24 and 25 weeks if this is your first baby or for women who require closer monitoring.

At these appointments, the midwife will undertake a full antenatal assessment including checking your blood pressure and will listen to your baby’s heart rate. The midwife will also discuss with you your emotional well-being.

At each antenatal appointment, you’ll be asked to provide a urine sample, This is to test for minor infection or to observe for symptoms associated with high blood pressure and diabetes.

From your appointment at around 28, weeks the growth of your baby will be monitored. This may be through measuring the height of your uterus or by regular scans. The measurements from both of these will be plotted onto a personalised growth chart within your handheld notes.

From the 20-week scan, you can phone or email the Hey Baby line on 07769671449 or email hyp-tr.hey.baby@nhs.net to book your free NHS antenatal classes if you live within the Hull boundary with an HU1 to HU9 postcode. You can attend with a partner or a friend.

The classes are held in different areas of Hull and are over three weeks,  provide information on labour, birth, caring for your newborn, infant feeding, safer sleeping, caring for you and your baby, healthy lifestyles and safety in the home.

UsMums also arrange a post-natal catch-up where you can meet up with the other new mums and partners from the group around six weeks after your baby is born.

If you live in the East Riding, you can book classes at your local children’s centre or ask your community midwife for more details.

Planning for the birth

It’s never too soon to start thinking about your options for birth and your midwife will already have discussed your options at your booking in appointment.

These include having a home birth, having your baby in the Fatima Allam Birth Centre or, for some women, the most appropriate place to give birth is on the obstetric unit under the care of a consultant obstetrician.

It is really important that you have these discussions early and that you start planning well ahead of your due date although your options for place of birth can change at any point during your pregnancy.

You can get advice from your midwife or you can come along to the HEY Baby Carousel to chat to midwives about the best options for you and your baby.

Maternity leave and financial matters

At your appointment around 16 weeks, you will be offered an FW8, a form which you send off to receive an exemption card, entitling you to free NHS prescriptions and dental care until your baby is one. If you are able to apply for Healthy Start Vouchers, you can also obtain this form at your appointment.

Once you have passed your 20^th week of pregnancy, you are able to obtain a MATB1 which your work will require and to enable you to apply for some benefits. You can get your MATB1 when you are seen by the midwife, in the Antenatal Clinic or by attending the Hey Baby Carousel at Women and Children’s Hospital on the last Wednesday of every month, as long as you bring your green notes with you.

If you are taking maternity leave from work, you need to tell your employer in writing at least 15 weeks before your baby is due. If your partner plans to take paternity leave they also need to inform their employer at this time.

If you’re entitled to Maternity Allowance, you can claim from 26 weeks pregnant. Visit www.gov.uk for more information on benefits for families.

When to see the doctor?

Most women won’t experience any problems during pregnancy but it is important to be aware of significant signs and symptoms that need to be discussed with a medical professional.

You need to contact the maternity unit immediately if you have:

• Noticed your baby’s movements have changed
• Any vaginal bleeding or leaking of fluid
• Obvious swelling of your hand, face or upper body
• A persistent headache
• Any problems with your vision (blurring, flashing lights, spots, difficulty focusing)
• Severe pain just below the ribs, in the middle of your tummy
• Itching, particularly of your hand or feet

Please contact your GP if you experience any other health-related issues.

Helping employers deal with the most difficult and delicate of subjects

A special event is being held next month to help employers of all sizes to better handle bereavement.

According to the bereavement charity, Cruse, one in ten people in the UK is thought to be affected by bereavement at any given time. Whilst most bereaved people will cope reasonably well at work, others struggle to deal with their loss, and this can impact on both productivity and relationships with co-workers.  And what of co-workers and managers – how do you approach a colleague who’s dealing with grief? What do you say, and what should you do? How do you balance their needs with that of the workplace?

To help local employers support all of their staff with this most difficult and delicate of subjects, the Bereavement Team at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is joining with Cruse Bereavement Care and Dove House Hospice, to host ‘At a Loss for Words’, a dedicated FREE breakfast seminar for businesses on Tuesday 15^th May.

Sponsored by Macmillan, the event is free to attend and will take place from 8:30am to 12:30pm at the Mercure Grange Park Hotel in Willerby (free breakfast and registration from 7:30am). Delegates will be able to hear first-hand experiences of managing bereavement from employers and employees, attend workshops, put questions to the expert panel, and receive a bereavement resource pack to take away and use in the workplace. Speakers include John Creasey from Dove House Hospice, who will help delegates to better understand bereavement, and Lizzie Jordan, a mother, widow and award-winning social entrepreneur who will provide a first-hand account of working life after bereavement.

Dr Barbara Payman, Bereavement Counsellor for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says:

“Everyone will be affected by bereavement at some stage. Loss and grief can be difficult enough for people to speak about with their loved ones, but for employers, who understandably have to have one eye on their needs of their business, staff bereavement can pose extra challenges.

“Our special breakfast seminar will offer local employers the chance to hear from experts and ask questions which they may previously have been worried about asking. From compassionate leave and sources of bereavement support, right through to  understanding the  employee’s ongoing needs as they  return to work, our experts will give an insight into how best to deal with bereavement in the interests of the employee, co-workers, and the business as a whole.”

The breakfast seminar is suitable for employers of any size who would like assistance with bereavement issues, and is being held to coincide with national Dying Matters Awareness Week.

Dr Payman continues:

“Loss and bereavement can be devastating, and people can find it very awkward just knowing what to say to someone who has lost a loved one, so many people avoid talking about these issues. It can be particularly difficult to know how best to help bereaved people at work.

“By offering appropriate support to bereaved staff and colleagues, we not only help them, but our workplace too –people respond very well to ‘feeling understood and cared about’. Please come to this event to chat to us and learn more about bereavement at work and what we can do to help.”

‘At a Loss for Words’ will take place from 7:30am-12.30pm on Tuesday 15^th May at the Mercure Grange Park Hotel in Willerby. It is free to attend but places must be reserved in advance. Click here for a copy of the event flyer and the registration form. To book your place or for more information, contact Angela McLoughlin on 01482 461319 or email Angela.Mcloughlin@hey.nhs.uk