25 January 2019
The Lord Mayor of Coventry John Blundell and the Lady Mayoress Lindsey Blundell have presented Maternity staff at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust with a plaque to celebrate being awarded Baby Friendly Accreditation from UNICEF.
The Trust has been awarded the accreditation as international recognition of its inspirational work to support infant feeding.
After being given a tour of the Maternity Unit at University Hospital Coventry, the Lord Mayor paid tribute to staff and presented them with a special plaque.
The Mayor said: “It is fantastic to be invited to present this award and be shown around this wonderful unit. I would like to offer my personal congratulations to the maternity team for its outstanding achievement.
“It’s a well-deserved and fitting tribute to your hard work to make sure mums and new-born babies are given the best possible care when it comes to feeding.
“I am very impressed to hear that UHCW is the first NHS Trust in the region to receive the Baby Friendly Award from UNICEF.
“In Coventry we’re so proud of our health workers and the amazing service they provide and this award recognises the vital care UHCW is providing to help lead the way.”
On receiving the award, Carmen Baskerville, Infant Feeding Lead and Clinical Educator at UHCW, said: "The Trust joined forces with the Baby Friendly Initiative to strengthen breastfeeding rates and further improve care for mothers across Coventry and Warwickshire.
“We are delighted to receive this recognition. It is acknowledgment of our hard work to support strong close and loving relationships between mothers and babies. We are proud that breastfeeding rates at UHCW are above the national average.
“The feedback we receive from new mothers for the breastfeeding support we offer is incredible.”
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 public services to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding and to strengthen mother-baby and family relationships.
Breastfeeding protects babies against serious illnesses including gastroenteritis and respiratory infections in infancy as well as asthma and diabetes in later life.
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON BLOOD TESTING DUE TO COVID-19
Shielding Patients in very high risk for COVID Group
All people who have been identified as very high risk (requiring shielding) for COVID are in the process of being contacted by their clinician regarding their ongoing care. If you require a blood test whilst shielding as part of your care, appointment details including when and where your blood test will be carried out will be sent to you via a text message from SwiftQueue who manage our blood test bookings.
If you have regular blood tests and have been asked to have these, please ensure you have blood forms at home available; if you haven’t please contact your specialty to have some sent to you in advance of your blood tests.
Older People and Vulnerable Adults
People who are in the groups identified by the government as higher risk e.g are over 70 or receive a yearly flu jab, but are not in the very high risk (requiring shielding) group, can attend our normal blood test clinics. The blood test clinics and waiting areas have been adapted so that social distancing can be maintained.
Please check the locations on the map below.
Click on the map for information about phlebotomy clinics in Coventry. You can book an appointment online at the locations in red.
Please book an appointment before attending for a blood test. Click on the ‘Book Online’ button above. Booking an appointment helps patients, their carers and family members to plan their hospital visit better, helping to reduce clinic waiting times and enabling patients to be seen much more quickly.
Location: Outpatients Department, on the ground floor. Opening hours: 8am-4.45pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).
Children under 16 years old will need to book online here.
Please book an appointment before attending for a blood test, click on the ‘Book Online’ button above. Patients from Rugby and the surrounding areas are able to access the Friends Blood Taking Unit at the Hospital of St Cross.
Referrals for blood tests can be from GP's, practice nurses or from hospital consultants. Patients are also able to leave other samples, such as urine, which have been collected at home, at the hospital's Pathology Reception.
Location: Near Brookfield House, just off North Road - map here. Opening hours: The blood taking clinic sessions for adults and children are listed below:
Monday -Friday 7am-4:45pm Appointment only
Wednesday Evening 5pm-7pm Suspended due to COVID
Saturday Morning 7am-10pm Suspended due to COVID
April 2020 NEW - This Clinic is now by appointment. Please book an appointment before attending for a blood test. Click on the ‘Book Online’ button above.
Address: Stoney Stanton Road, Coventry CV1 4FS Location: Access is via the main doors, the Phlebotomy team are in Area A. Opening hours: Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). 8am–4.45pm
Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT)
Specialist Tests - There are a small number of specialist tests where blood needs to be taken on a hospital site as the sample must be transferred to the laboratory rapidly for the test to be undertaken. Click here for a list of these specialist tests and to find out more.