THE Maternity Helpline’ at an East London hospital has been nominated for a prestigious award by the Royal College of Midwives. The helpline run by Homerton Hospital has been shortlisted for the National Childbirth Trust award
THE 'Maternity Helpline' at an East London hospital has been nominated for a prestigious award by the Royal College of Midwives.
The helpline run by Homerton Hospital has been shortlisted for the National Childbirth Trust award for 'Development of Services Addressing Inequalities in Health' in the Royal college's 2009-10s Midwifery awards, to be held on January 27.
The helpline staffed by trained midwives was set up two years ago as part of a programme to reduce infant deaths in Hackney, one of London's most deprived areas, particularly women from the Afro-Caribbean community who were not using maternity services during pregnancy.
Its aim has been improving access to maternity care in Hackney with a 'one stop' phone service where mums have one-to-one time with an experienced midwife for as long as they need it, when they need it. It helped13,000 callers in its first 18 months.
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