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Baby friendly is
best for Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust
SOUTHPORT and Ormskirk
Hospital NHS Trust has been awarded a Certificate of Commitment for
breastfeeding in its first step towards gaining international
recognition from the UNICEF (United Nation's Children's Fund) Baby
Friendly Initiative. The Certificate was presented to staff at the
Maternity Services 'Baby Day' held in conjunction with the
National Childbirth Trust in October.
"We decided to join forces with the Baby Friendly Initiative
to increase breastfeeding rates and to improve care for all mothers
at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust," said
Catherine Boyle, Consultant Midwife.
"Breastfeeding protects babies against a wide range of serious
illnesses including gastroenteritis and respiratory infections in
infancy as well as cardiovascular disease, asthma and diabetes later
in life. We also know that breastfeeding reduces the mother's risk
of some cancers; although mums might be more interested in hearing
that it's easier, cheaper and simply less hassle than bottle
feeding. We also set out to ensure that all mums
and babies are supported to form a strong loving relationship;
whatever their choice of feeding method – as this is the best start
for every baby." added Lesley Fawcett, Infant Feeding co-ordinator.
The Baby Friendly Initiative, set up by UNICEF and the World Health
Organisation, is a global programme which provides a practical and
effective way for health services to improve the care provided for
all mothers and babies. In the UK, the initiative works with health
professionals to ensure that mothers and babies receive high-quality
support to enable successful breastfeeding. The Certificate of
Commitment recognises that a health care facility is dedicated to
implementing recognised best practice standards.
"We are delighted that Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS
Trust has received this award. Surveys show us
that most mothers want to breastfeed, but don't always get the
support they need. Mothers at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS
Trust have the satisfaction of knowing that their midwives/health
visitors are aiming to provide the highest standard of care." said Baby Friendly
Initiative Programme Director Sue Ashmore.
Still time for grants to make a
difference
LOCAL community groups are
being urged to bid for vital money which could make a real
difference in their neighbourhoods. So far Lancashire's Police
and Crime Commissioner has given away more than £28,000 from his
Community Action Fund; with just over £21,000 still to be allocated.
Clive Grunshaw is keen to ensure grassroots projects across
Lancashire are benefitting from the money, and criteria for applying
for the fund has been changed to focus more on local community
groups.
The Commissioner said:- "I am delighted we have been able to
support so many worthwhile projects across Lancashire already, and I
know from visiting some of the organisations the difference the
money has made. I want the fund to go towards projects which support
the priorities in my Police and Crime Plan, such as reducing
anti-social behavior or protecting vulnerable people. I know there
are many small community groups out there who are doing vital work
in their local area, and I want to give these projects the funding
they need to have a real impact in their communities."
Projects which have benefitted so far include:-
► Cheets Not Streets, in Blackburn, which
was granted £2,000 toward a summer project to provide diversionary
activities for young people to reduce anti-social behaviour
► Sahara in Preston which was granted
£1,500 to provide counselling services for women in the Asian
community affected by domestic abuse and violence
► The Fraser Street Project, in Burnley,
where a grant of £1,500 supported a 12 week project to reduce youth
anti-social behaviour
► Lancaster Boys' and Girls' Club, which
was granted £1,430 toward a community festival fun day as part of
its Make a Positive Change programme.
In total, 21 projects across the Lancashire County have successfully
secured a grant to date. To find out more about the revised
application criteria, how to apply and the full list of which
projects have benefitted so far log onto:-
lancashire-pcc.gov.uk.
FAST CRAFT SEASON ENDS
THE Steam Packet Company's
2013 fast craft season drew to a close on Sunday, 3 November 2013,
with Manannan's final Liverpool service of the year. The winter
schedule will see Ben-my-Chree operate 2 Heysham services per day,
from Monday to Friday, with Saturdays and Sundays, seeing her carry
out 1 Heysham and 1 Birkenhead sailing on each day, as she has done
in recent years. Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark
Woodward said:- "Manannan traditionally operates from Easter
through to early November and this year she enjoyed 100% technical
reliability. Even allowing for some unavoidable weather
cancellations her overall reliability was still 98%. Looking ahead
to next year, we opened our 2014 bookings at the start of October
and the response so far has been very encouraging."
After a winter in dry dock, during which she will undergo her annual
maintenance, Manannan will return for the start of the 2014 fast
craft season on Friday, 28 March 2014. |
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Ofcom updates
Communication Price Comparison Accreditation Scheme in time for
Christmas
IT can be hard to get good
information when choosing a new service or switching services, and
if online, well the normal thing now is to use price comparison
websites. Internet marketing along with slick TV and other
advertisements have helped price comparison websites to grow
exponentially over the last decade, tapping into a market that many
consumers think delivers a good deal quickly and easily. As with any
thing quick, there often is a price you might pay for that deal. The
UJ's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has slammed comparison
websites back in 2011 for not providing enough information on
insurance products. Other headlines were to follow... Yet price
comparison websites (PCW) have increased in popularity during the
recession, as people strive to save cash, and according to some
industry experts, they might still be "misleading"
people. As popularity grew many experts have spotted that some sites
can give greater prominence to companies willing to pay their fees,
so customers might think they are getting the "best deal"
when in fact they might not be! This has lead on to worries that
people and families who rely on these websites, who need the cash
the most and do not have the time to travel around for the best
deals, might in fact have been missing out on hundreds of pounds, on
credit cards, loans, savings and insurance deals. Comparison
websites moved from financial and insurance products, to also cover
many other services. Services from grocery shopping and electrical
shopping and even trade services have now got PCW attention. But how
do you know if you are one of the many consumers who use these sites
to hunt down the "best possible deals", that you are
actually getting the best deal? Take the traditional side of the
market, the financial service sector. Back in 2012, a review by
major website industry experts found that the majority of sites
attempted to list all providers, regardless of whether they pay a
commission in the UK. Sadly, they also found that they did not
display the commission-free deals on their home page, or they marked
it quite difficult to find the commission-free deals on the sites.
This led to an investigation by Which? And, back in 2012, Richard
Lloyd, executive director of Which? was quoted in the press as
saying:- "Price comparison sites claim to do all of the work
for you, but our research found if you want to get the best deal you
still need to shop around or it could cost you hundreds of pounds.
Going to the insurer directly may also give you a better quote."
This public and media interest led to the UK's Advertising Standards
Authority (ASA) releasing a press
release that backed the UK's
Office of Fair Trading (OFT) campaign to help the public make the
best use of price comparison websites. A review followed, carried
out by the OFT. On the 6 November 2013, the Office of Communications
(Ofcom), who are the independent telecommunications regulator and
communications authority for the UK, introduced improvements to its'
voluntary accreditation scheme for price comparison websites, to
help consumers using communication comparison websites.
In a Press statement on 6 November 2013, Ofcom told us that:-
"Price comparison websites can assist consumers when they are
choosing communications services; such as broadband, landline
telephone and mobile; as well as TV services. These sites can apply
to Ofcom for independent accreditation, which gives assurances to
consumers that they are receiving accurate, transparent and
comprehensive pricing information. To further improve the accuracy
of the information provided to consumers, Ofcom has decided that
accredited websites will now face 'spot checks' every 3 months.
Accredited websites must now also update their price comparison data
at least every 2 weeks, down from 8, and have a fair and timely
process for handling complaints."
Ofcom is also requiring accredited websites to:-
► Provide information on any data
usage limits that apply to the services listed in their comparison
search results;
► Explain that internet traffic
management policies may apply and include links to communications
providers' policies where available;
► Explain that actual and 'up
to' broadband speeds may vary;
► Provide tools, or links to tools,
for consumers to test the speed of their broadband connection;
► Alert consumers that their
provider may increase the price of services and packages and that
they should be allowed to exit their contract without penalty if
this happens.
Currently, 6 PCWs are Ofcom accredited. These websites are:-
Mobilife,
Billmonitor, Broadband
Choices, Simplify
Digital,
Broadband.co.uk, and
Cable.co.uk.
Claudio Pollack, Ofcom's Consumer Group Director, said:- "The
ability to access clear and accurate information on the services
they buy is fundamental to consumer choice. Consumers can be sure
that by using an Ofcom accredited price comparison service they will
be receiving accurate, transparent and comprehensive pricing
information to help choose the best deal."
These changes follow a review of the PCW Accreditation Scheme, which
was generally found it to be working well by Ofcom, since its
introduction in 2006.
Accredited websites will also carry a new logo so that consumers can
recognise their Ofcom approved status. Websites who are a part of
the independent accreditation scheme will display this logo on them.
Back in 2003 Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office (NAO)
is quoted saying:- "It is hard for consumers to understand how
to get a good deal for fixed-line telephones, and therefore many do
not try. Oftel has been working to help raise awareness, but it
needs to have a better understanding of why consumers behave the way
they do and should also make it easier for them to compare the
tariffs on offer, for example by building on its tariff comparison
accreditation scheme." So what do you think about Price
Comparison Websites, do you think the market has got better since
2003 or stayed the same? Please email your views to our newsroom
via:-
news24@southportreporter.com.
Fact of the week:- Did you know that
Ofcom operates under the UK's
Communications Act 2003?
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