WORKING TOWARDS UNIC EF UK BABY FRIENDLY ACCREDITATION IN NEONATAL UNITS, THE BUR DETT TRUST SUPPORT PROGRA MME INTRODUCTION The Unicef UK Baby Friendly Initiative is based on a global accreditation programme of UNICEF and the World Health Organisation. It is designed to support breastfeeding and parent infant relationships by working with public services to improve standards of care. The programme is well-established in maternity and health visiting services throughout the UK, and recently launched bespoke standards for neonatal units to work towards independently. These standards cover: Supporting parents to have a close and loving relationship with their baby Enabling babies to receive breastmilk, and to breastfeed when possible Valuing parents as partners in their babies’ care. More information can be found in our Guide to the Baby Friendly standards, and detailed guidance for working towards our neonatal standards can be found Guidance for neonatal units. The Baby Friendly Initiative has received a grant from the Burdett Trust to take forward our neonatal standards work in the UK. The grant is £110,000 over 3 years (£36,600 per year) and is intended to ‘empower neonatal nurses with the knowledge and skills to promote breastfeeding / breastmilk use, delivering a transformational cultural shift, bringing parents and nursing staff together in partnership to care for the baby’. Unicef UK are proposing to use this grant to support 6 neonatal units to achieve Baby Friendly accreditation between 2016 and 2019. EACH UNIT WILL RECEIVE An implementation visit to introduce the standards and support the development of the action plan 3 staff places on a 3 day course covering understanding and implementation of the standards and how to train staff A comprehensive package of teaching materials for staff training 3 staff places on a 2 day course covering project management and audit of the Baby Friendly standards. Stage 1 support and full assessment costs Stage 2 support and full assessment costs Stage 3 support and 50% of assessment costs Bi-annual meetings for 3 years with all the project sites and the Baby Friendly team 3 places at the 2017 Baby Friendly conference for neonatal units Ongoing telephone support from a Baby Friendly assessor THE SELECTED NEONATAL UNITS WILL NEED TO 1 Be available to attend an interview on the 6 or 7th of June, 2016 Be available to attend an initial meeting on 11th October, 2016 Provide a signed commitment from the clinical director (or appropriate equivalent) to see the project through to Stage 3 accreditation. Have a named project lead that is the key contact with Unicef UK Release all relevant staff for training in the Baby Friendly standards. This should be of an adequate length to meet each staff member’s needs according to current level of knowledge and skills, role and responsibility Provide a Unicef UK neonatal workbook for all relevant staff (£10 per copy) Support 3 members of staff to attend one 3 day course and one 2 day course in London Carry out quarterly audits of staff skills and knowledge and parent’s experiences using the Baby Friendly audit tool and submit the results to Unicef UK Convene and maintain a steering group for Baby Friendly which includes senior nurses, medical staff and university lecturer responsible for neonatal training (if appropriate). Submit notes of the meetings to the Baby Friendly office bi-annually. Appoint a Baby Friendly Guardian from senior staff or Trustees (e.g. clinical director, board member etc) to support and oversee the project at a senior level Pay for 50% of the Stage 3 assessment costs (approximately £1700 +VAT) Support key staff to attend and support the neonatal NIFN group Support Unicef UK to write case studies, conference presentations and other papers for publication Support 3 staff to attend the Baby Friendly Initiative neonatal conference in London in 2017 HOW DO WE APPLY? Interested parties will need to complete the application form and submit it to Unicef UK by 31 March 2016. Shortlisted applicants will be asked to attend an informal interview at Unicef House in central London on 6th or 7th June, 2016. If you have any queries regarding your application please contact the Baby Friendly Office, 020 7375 6052, or email bfi@unicef.org.uk. 2