Midwives win award for breastfeeding programme

Yvonne McGrath said the team had shown "outstanding commitment" to helping babies

An NHS team has won an international award for its breastfeeding and infant feeding programmes.

Midwives and health visitors in Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Goole were recognised for their commitment to babies' health with the Baby Friendly Initiative Gold Award, run by international charity Unicef.

The Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust said it had been delivering feeding care for babies across all three towns over the past 16 years.

Yvonne McGrath, group director of midwifery at NHS Humber Health Partnership, said the team had shown "outstanding commitment".

She added: "Achieving this international recognition is just reward for almost 16 years dedicated to ensuring babies in this area get the best start in life."

The team was singled out for introducing a frenulotomy service – a procedure to treat babies born with "tongue tie".

More than 300 babies underwent the procedure in Scunthorpe and Grimsby, when previously they would have had to travel to Sheffield.

'Incredible teamwork'

The team also won praise for providing antenatal education to mothers.

Lexie Jackson, the infant feeding lead at Scunthorpe General Hospital, said they were "incredibly proud to have reached this milestone".

She said: "This award is not just a reflection of the dedication and teamwork of our staff, but also of our strong partnership with North and North East Lincolnshire health visiting teams.

"Together, we've demonstrated an unwavering commitment to supporting parents and caregivers in the best way possible.

"We could not have achieved this without the incredible teamwork and commitment of everyone involved."

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