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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-03-04 Daily Xml
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LYELL MCEWIN HOSPITAL

The Hon. L. STEVENS (Little Para) (15:38): Today I want to talk about the birthing services at the Lyell McEwin Health Service, and just highlight what an amazing place this is for women and their families to go to House of Assembly ve a baby. The news that there has been a surge in bookings over the next three months is very good, but it also comes on the back of the fact that almost 1,000 more babies were born at the Lyell McEwin last year compared with 2006. There are a number of very good reasons for this.

First of all, the upgrade that occurred at the maternity facilities at that hospital a couple of years ago is really outstanding. For members' information, this is really the most up to date of our public hospitals, and it would rival any private hospital in terms of the facilities that are available for women, their families and staff. Secondly, a call centre that is operating statewide has been able to redirect women to the Lyell McEwin Health Service more appropriately than continuing to go into town, usually to the Women's and Children's Hospital.

That has been a very important thing, because for a long time the Lyell McEwin Hospital laboured under the false assumption by many that it was a second-rate hospital. That is no longer the case and has not been the case for quite some time. The huge amount of money that has been spent on it, and is continuing to be spent on it, combined with the expertise of staff there, has meant that things have really changed. This call centre has done a lot to get that message out.

Finally, the Women's and Children's Division of the Lyell McEwin Hospital is an accredited baby-friendly hospital. That is an important attribute which the hospital has but which not every maternity hospital in South Australia has. The WHO and UNICEF launched that baby-friendly health accreditation in 1992 with an aim of strengthening maternity practices to support breast-feeding, involving 10 steps aimed at protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding.

It is challenging to get that accreditation and it is challenging to keep it. The Lyell McEwin's achievement required demonstrating that all staff members, including volunteers, ancillary staff, medical, nursing and midwifery staff, who have contact with women and children follow a rigorous set of standards which support the initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding. Maintaining the standard requires continued updating of knowledge and change of practice in line with the best available evidence and then translating that into real outcomes for the families in our community.

The accreditors observe practice within the medical division over a number of days and nights, as well as questioning mothers about their care and also questioning all levels of staff about their practice and knowledge. It is thorough and rigorous. Indeed, all the staff in the Women's and Children's Division are dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to maintain and improve on these standards.

It is no mean feat to achieve this accreditation for the third time in the midst of the extreme activity levels of the unit. So, everyone there, involving the whole team, requires and deserves our congratulations. As I said before, it is just another reason why choosing to have your baby at the Lyell McEwin Health Service is a very good decision for both mother and child.

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