November 2016 Edition Welcome to the second edition of Southern Maternity - news you can use about providing the best maternity care for the women, babies and families of the Southern District. This newsletter is an initiative of Southern's Maternity Quality and Safety Programme and is aimed at promoting best practice, communication and collaboration within the maternity sector. Please contact Heather LaDell, MQSP Coordinator, with queries, if you have maternity news to share or if you wish to unsubscribe to this newsletter: heather.ladell@southerndhb.govt.nz. Best Practice: Newborn Metabolic Screening The Challenge: Currently Southern DHB practitioners get NBMS sample to the lab within best practice guidelines (four days of taking the sample), 72% of The Opportunity: Early identification means early treatment – a baby whose sample is in the laboratory within best practice guidelines will receive treatment by two weeks of age and will have the same opportunities to develop as their siblings. Actions: 2) Inform families about the benefits of the screening and document their consent for taking the sample and for long-term storage of the blood spot cards. Whoever performs the test should document the consent. 3) Best practice for when a family declines the screening: For more information, contact Joan Carll, Screening Educator, jcarll@adhb.govt.nz. New maternity resource for working with Asian, Middle Eastern and African WomenThe Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Maternal Health online and hard copy resource provides a general guide and essential culture-specific knowledge and cultural approaches for health practitioners who work with CALD women from Asian, Middle Eastern and African backgrounds. It contains research material and guidelines with case scenarios. Learning culturally appropriate approaches and assessment/screening tools will help you to improve maternal health outcomes for CALD women and their families. Registering with e-Cald is free for Southern DHB employees and access holders, and there are many useful online continuing education modules available. Promoting safe sleep: |