Somerset Council’s Public Health Nursing service has struck gold – winning a top award from UNICEF.
The UNICEF Baby Friendly Gold Award is the highest level of accreditation and celebrates excellent and continued practice in the support of infant feeding and parent-infant relationships.
And it follows a survey of families in Somerset, which poured high praise on the service. Around 40 families of babies born between Dec 2023 and March 2024 participated in the external audit in April last year.
Feedback showed 100% of families interviewed felt they were treated with ‘kindness and consideration’, 93% of mothers reported an antenatal discussion appropriate to their need which was ‘comforting and caring’ and 97% of breastfeeding mothers felt supported by groups, 1:1 and specialist services.
The service has showcased more than ten years of continued commitment to providing high quality care to families, babies and young children of Somerset.
Baby Friendly accreditation is based on a set of interlinking evidence-based standards for maternity, health visiting, community and hospital-based children’s services.
These are designed to provide parents with the best possible care to build close and loving relationships with their baby and to feed their baby in ways which will support optimum health and development. At each stage they are externally assessed by UNICEF UK.
Councillor Graham Oakes, Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Public Health, Climate Change and Environment, said:
This prestigious award is a testament to the team’s unwavering commitment to excellence in supporting breastfeeding and nurturing parent-infant relationships.
Health visitors play an important role in supporting families, especially first-time parents and vulnerable family members. They can identify needs of a baby (and the wider family) and are often the first point of contact for parents who need early advice and support. Huge congratulations to the team and all involved.
Sophie Jones, Deputy Head of Service, said:
Our journey to ‘Gold’ status has been one of dedication, passion and a collective effort to exceed the high standards set by the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative. We have not only implemented best practices but have also sustained and built upon them, ensuring that every family we support receives the highest quality of care.
This Gold accreditation is more than just a badge of honour; it is a beacon of our service’s dedication to continuous improvement and our resolve to provide the best start in life for every child. I am incredibly proud of our service’s hard work and the positive impact we have made on the lives of countless families.
Together, we celebrate this remarkable achievement and look forward to advancing our service to even greater heights.
You can find more information on the initiative on UNICEF’s Theory of Change document.
The Health Visiting team offer a number of free groups across the county; the ‘Healthy Little Ones’ groups are ideal for families expecting a baby and can help with making connections with other families and health professionals.
Healthy Little Ones Groups are a friendly and fun drop-in session where you can access free health and development advice, practical and emotional infant feeding support, self weigh your under 5, meet other parents/carers, and play!
Additionally, the ‘Fun Through Food and Movement’ group for 0 to 5s and their parents/carers is a friendly, fun drop-in session where people can access free health and development advice, practical and emotional infant feeding support, self-weigh your under 5, meet other parents/carers and play! The groups also offer people the opportunity to speak to a health professional.
For more information, visit the Council’s Health Visiting Service page or its Facebook and Instagram pages.
