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:
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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