Comments for NCT Watch

Comment on Motion tabled on National Breastfeeding Awareness Week by nctwatch

nctwatch — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:42:44 +0000

The Department of Health is running its annual National Breastfeeding Awareness Week from 11th-17th May 2008. The NCT’s Campaigns Department has developed a resource pack for Breastfeeding Awareness Week 2008 for branches and volunteers in all four countries of the UK. The pack provides information on what your government health department is planning for the week this year and offers tips on how to get involved, the resources available and how to access them. You can find more information on National Breastfeeding Awareness Week 2008 at http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk. If you would liek a copy of the pack please email campaigns@nct.org.uk

Comment on The Department of Health supports reconfiguration of maternity services by Laura O'Hagan

Laura O'Hagan — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:32:14 +0000

Many NCT branches and members are involved in campaigns focusing on proposed changes to maternity services in their local areas. These changes are usually recommended in a process known as reconfiguration. To report proposed changes in your area and receive information and resources which may be valuable to you in your campaign please visit http://update.nct.org.uk/campaigns/reconfig to fill in an issue alert form and email it to us at campaigns@nct.org.uk or call us on 020 8752 2332. The NCT’s Campaigns Support Officer will be happy to provide you with information, support and resources to allow you to influence the decisions being made and ensure that the needs of local maternity service users are fully taken in to account when decisions are being taken to reform any aspect of maternity services provision.

Comment on Child Poverty Action Group call for David Cameron to make firm commitment on child poverty by Jamal Affwat

Jamal Affwat — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:51:05 +0000

Be vary careful about the Poverty debate. Everyone knows about bell-distributions, outliers and populations. And we also know that investing in poverty-welfare institutionalises poverty by reinforcing symptoms. We have to think systemically about educating people out of poverty instead of investing in its continuance.

Comment on The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issues new guidance on diet and nutrition to help give babies and toddles the best start in life by Weight Loss Low Carbohydrate Diet The Zone Diet

Weight Loss Low Carbohydrate Diet The Zone Diet — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:35:53 +0000

Weight Loss Low Carbohydrate Diet The Zone Diet…

I can not agree with you in 100% regarding some thoughts, but you got good point of view…

Comment on The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) publishes updated Guidelines on Antenatal Care by Mary Newburn, NCT

Mary Newburn, NCT — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:04:24 +0000

NCT particularly welcomes the strong emphasis that the updated Antenatal care guideline places on the promotion of informed-decision making. The guideline provides extremely positive recommendations about how women have the right to make choices about their care and screening options. It highlights the importance of women being provided with high quality, unbiased information, the opportunity to discuss and ask questions and sufficient time so that they are able to make fully informed-decisions.

The challenge now is for the health service to implement the recommendations of these guidelines to promote good practice and provide women with the best possible care at such an important time in their lives.

Comment on The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issues new guidance on diet and nutrition to help give babies and toddles the best start in life by Rosie Dodds, NCT

Rosie Dodds, NCT — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:02:01 +0000

NCT supports the priority given to increasing support for breastfeeding as one of the most effective ways to reduce inequalities in health. Full implementation of the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative across hospital and community services, improved training for health professionals and peer support schemes for breastfeeding women should enable more families to access accurate information and sensitive support when they need it. English health services have fallen behind Scotland and Northern Ireland in the meeting the Baby Friendly standards in spite of the NICE Postnatal Care recommendation 20 months ago that it should be rolled out across acute and community services. As NICE point out;
‘Interventions that successfully increase breastfeeding initiation and duration among those least inclined to breastfeed are likely to be highly cost effective.’

We endorse the Guideline Development group’s view that the value of the Healthy Start vouchers should be increased and more community based food initiatives should be able to use the vouchers. These vouchers are targeted at the poorest mothers and children who are not always able to afford a healthy diet.
We are also glad to see the instruction to NHS trusts, health centres, GP surgeries, children’s centres, and pharmacists to avoid promoting or advertising infant formula or follow-on formula through leaflets, posters, charts, educational materials or any other materials and equipment produced by infant formula, bottle and teat manufacturers. There has been a great deal of naivety in allowing some services, information material and training to be sponsored by those with conflicts of interest.

We now urgently need mechanisms to ensure there is rapid action to implement these recommendations, not only throughout the health service, but also in local authorities, schools, community and social services departments.

Comment on David Cameron announces Tory commitment to a universal health visiting service by Belinda Phipps

Belinda Phipps — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:04:31 +0000

There is no doubt that those caring for a new baby need a great deal of non judgemental support, encouragement and guidance. Getting things right from the start, and helping parents meet other parents locally, makes the difference to how resourceful and confident parents feel.

The NCT is pleased that the Conservative Party recognises this, however, details of the proposals need careful consideration. There are strong arguments for targeting most support towards parents who are disadvantaged or have particular needs. Health visiting could be an effective way to support families but finding the numbers of new health visitors and providing appropriate additional training would be a challenge.

We need to know how much additional funding there would be under a Conservative government for maternity and early years family support. We also need to see how this proposal fits with earlier proposals such as maternity support workers in the home for every family.

Comment on Tories release worrying figures on maternity unit closures by Mary Newburn

Mary Newburn — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:01:50 +0000

The figures released today are unacceptable. The unscheduled closure of maternity units has a major impact on women and their partners. Parents lose all sense of control when the unit at which they have planned to give birth has been closed and it’s a major cause of anxiety.

These figures also highlight that it is impossible for women to make choices about place of birth if hospitals cannot be relied upon to be open when needed. If women are to have their choice of place of birth guaranteed by 2009, as promised by the Government, it is vital there is sufficient capacity to provide care for women who have booked a service.

If a maternity unit closes more than once a year, the NCT believes the service is either not well managed or insufficiently resourced to deal with the peaks of demand. If this is the case, urgent attention should be paid to the causes of the problem and a plan drawn up to prevent closures happening in future