Ashcombe Maternity Services

Weston Area Health NHS Trust Maternity Service is based on Ashcombe Ward on the 2^nd floor at Weston General hospital. Kath Roberts, (Divisional Manager for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, Head of Midwifery) and Karen Mayer (Community Services Manager) manage and support a multidisciplinary team providing a high quality standard of research based, woman centred care locally in the North Somerset Area.

The team works in partnership with:

• Consultant obstetricians
• Consultant paediatricians
• General Practitioners
• Ultrasonographers
• Pathology staff
• St Michael’s Hospital Bristol
• Southmead Hospital Bristol

• Midwives
• Maternity Care Assistants
• Consultant Obstetricians
• Clerical staff
• Housekeeping staff

The services provided include:

• Midwife –led care
• 24 hr midwife advice line
• 24hr on call midwife and Supervisor of Midwives

Early Pregnancy Assessment Clinic (EPAC)

The EPAC clinic is located in Ashcombe Clinic on the 2^nd floor and is open Mon- Fri 09.00-16.00. Ultra sound Scanning appointments are available between 09.30-11.15.

The clinic is led by a midwife and supported by Consultant Obstetricians who see woman with early pregnancy complications until 22 weeks gestation.This  service is accessed via a referral system only, with referrals from Emergency Department(ED), GPs, Community Midwives and patients can self refer. Any woman with excessive bleeding or abdominal pain should attend their nearest E.D department.

TEL: 01934 647288.

www.earlypregnancy.org.uk.

Day Assessment unit (DAU) 

The Day Assessment Unit is located on Ashcombe Ward and is open Mon-Fri 08.30-1630. The unit is midwife-led supported by a Consultant Obstetrician. Women with antenatal complications after 22 weeks gestation who require an increased level of antenatal care for example pregnancy induced high blood pressure can be referred to this service by Community Midwife, GP, self referral or DAU at St Michaels Hospital Bristol.

TEL: 01934 881215.

www.apec.org.uk

Antenatal Clinics

The clinics are held in Ashcombe Clinic on Wed or Friday mornings (depending on Consultant). The clinic provides Consultant Care locally for women with high risk pregnancy complications in an outpatient clinic. Referrals are made for clinic appointments by Community Midwives, GPs or St Michaels Hospital Bristol.

TEL: Ashcombe Ward Clerks 09.00-16-30 Mon-Fri 01934 647020

Antenatal Exercises to Music

Thursdays, 12:15pm - 1.15pm in the Hospital Gym, Ground Floor.

Cost £1 per session

Places limited to 20, so please book in by phoning 01934 647082.

Click for poster

Community Midwifery Service

The Community Midwives are based on Ashcombe Ward, local GP surgeries and Children’s Centres in the Weston area. The Community Midwife should be the first point of contact in early pregnancy for women; appointments can be made at the GP surgery. Community Midwives provide individualised care to meet women's and babies’ needs during pregnancy, labour and the immediate post natal period. The care provided ensures parents feel confident, supported and enjoy a healthy pregnancy.  Care is mostly provided at the GP surgery but can also take place in the home.

The Community midwife will also advise of Parent Education classes available to you during your pregnancy.

Community midwives provide a home birth service for low risk women choosing to birth in the relaxed environment of their own homes. When a mum and baby are discharged from hospital postnatally the community midwife will visit at home to monitor the well being of both mum and baby, ensure a safe recovery and transition to family life with a new baby. Between 11 and 28 days your care will be transferred the care to your health visitor. The 6 week post natal check is usually provided by your GP.

TEL; Community midwives office Mon-Fri 08.30- 12.30 01934 881064

www.nct.org.uk

www.nhs.uk/livewell/pregnancy

www.birthchoiceuk.com

Ashcombe Ward

Ashcombe ward is an integrated midwifery-led service providing a safe, relaxed environment for women with uncomplicated pregnancies to deliver and be supported during the initial postnatal period. Choices for place of birth will be discussed antenatally and if the pregnancy is low risk Ashcome ward or at home is the most appropriate place for delivery.

Facilities Available

Ashcombe ward has

• 2 ensuite labour wards,1 of the rooms has a large bath for use during labour as a form of relaxation and pain relief.

• Resuscitaires for the resuscitation of the newborn.

Our labour rooms are private, have ensuite facilities, birthing balls, mattresses etc to facilitate optimum positioning for labour and delivery. The team of midwives and support staff provide one to one care during labour in a safe, relaxed environment. Having one to one care with a midwife during labour reduces the amount of pain relief required but the midwife will discuss this during the antenatal period and during labour.

 Pain relief choices available:

• TENS (you are advised to hire a TENS machine prior to coming into hospital)
• Aromatherapy
• Water
• Pethidine
• Entonox (gas and air).

Post Natal Care

www.choicesforbirth.org.uk

www.babyfriendly.org.uk

www.laleche.org.uk

www.birthchoiceuk.com

Visiting Times

We appreciate that the arrival of a new baby is very exciting for not only new parents but their family and friend as well however; the well being of mum and baby must always be a priority for both staff and visitors. New parents and their baby need to have the opportunity to recover emotionally and physically from the experience of labour and delivery and to adapt and bond as a family. This should happen in a safe relaxed environment. For this reason (as well as preventing infection and security reasons please see below) we ask that the following times are respected.

New dads and siblings can visit daily from 11.00-21.00

Family and friends can visit daily from 14.00-1600 and 19.00-20.00

2 visitors only (plus dad and children) at any one time.

No children other than siblings allowed.

Thank you.

Infection Control 

We adhere to all trust policies with regards to infection control and have a team of housekeeping staff who take great pride in ensuring that Ashcombe is a safe environment. We would ask if all visitors would ensure they are well prior to visiting, use hand gel provided prior to entry to the ward and prior to contact with mum and baby. We would also ask that visitors use chairs provided and do not use beds to sit on. All these measures ensure that the risk of infection is reduced.

Security

For security reasons parents are advised to keep baby with them at all times. At delivery both mum and baby have identification labels attached, mum with one around her wrist and baby one on each ankle. Parents are advised if any of these identification bands come off to inform staff immediately so that they can be replaced, this way baby can be identified as belonging to mum at any time. Our bathrooms are big enough for Mum to take baby in whilst bathing. Staff cannot take responsibility for a baby left unattended if parents leave the unit temporarily as they may be called to an emergency.

Ashcombe unit is a secure unit with access control doors on all entrances/exits for staff and intercom access for visitors. This ensures the staff are aware of who is on the unit at all times. If you are visiting the unit please use the intercom for entry and exit. Please be patient when waiting to be allowed in as the staff may not always be able to respond immediately. There is no waiting area for visitors within the unit so visitors may be requested to wait outside.  Please respect that we will not allow visitors other than the times above.

Learning Environment

All staff on Ashcombe participate in mandatory Weston Area Health Trust Training Programme. All clinical staff also attend annual Obstetric Emergency, Aromatherapy, Infant Feeding, Child Protection, Suturing , Neonatal resuscitation (80% of staff trained to Neonatal Advanced Life Support specification), Domestic Abuse and Water birth. These are led by our Practice Development Midwife Alison Deakins.

A rolling clinical audit programme is in operation to ensure standards of midwifery care.

The unit is also part of the hospital accreditation scheme and has successfully gained accreditation.

We also support the degree Midwifery programme at UWE Bristol with students attending placements in both ward and community.

We also participate in the Paramedic training also based at UWE.

www.rcm.org.uk

www.nmc.org

www.uwe.ac.uk

Supervision of Midwives

Supervision is a statutory responsibility which provides a mechanism for support and guidance to every midwife practising in the United Kingdom. The purpose of supervision of midwives is to protect women and babies by actively promoting a safe standard of midwifery practice.

The unit has 4 Supervisors of Midwives (Cathy Molloy) Kath Roberts, Daisy Neumann, Jan Birkett and Jenny Gamlin, with 2 midwives currently undertaking training to become a Supervisor of Midwives in the near future.

Supervisors of midwives have a duty to promote childbirth as a normal physiological event and to work in partnership with women; creating opportunities for them to engage actively with maternity services (NMC 2006).

If you would like to contact a Supervisor of Midwives please call 01934-647189.

For further information please visit:

www.nmc.org/midwifery

www.midwifery.org.uk

Leaflets

See related leaflets

see press releases

June 2010: CM