1 in 13 babies are born prematurely (before 37 weeks) in the UK.  If you start showing signs of labour before 37 weeks you will need to ring our triage department as soon as possible and come in to be assessed.  Early labour signs can include: Your waters breaking Abdominal pain Regular tightenings Vaginal blood loss Our special care baby unit in Hereford can provide care for babies who are 32 weeks and above. Therefore if you were to go into labour before this then a transfer to an appropriate unit would be organised as a matter of urgency. Once…

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Herefordshire: a great location for a great vocation! Thank you for visiting our Respiratory team’s “Work with us” page – we hope this will inspire you to find out more and come and work with us! We’ll introduce you to the team and briefly cover some of the main services and locations we work from in the beautiful county of Herefordshire.   Meet the Team Consultant team Dr Ingrid Du Rand (Clinical lead) Dr Du Rand has been with Wye Valley Trust since 2015 and was appointed as Clinical lead for the department this year.  Dr Du Rand has a…

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The County Hospital has its own Angiography Suite where cardiac diagnostic tests, heart pacing, and the fitting of pacemakers are carried out. The Suite has its own dedicated staff, which assists the doctor and takes care of patients during their visit. It is managed by the heart and lung department. Coronary Angiography Coronary Angiography is a special x-ray of the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries do not show up on a plain x-ray. Coronary Angiography involves a dye being injected down the coronary arteries, which together with their smaller branches, then show up clearly on an x-ray “like a road…

Herefordshire community falls prevention service is a free service for older people who have fallen, are at risk of or are worried about falling, or have concerns about their balance. Who is the service for? The service is for people who have had falls or stumbles, who feel they are at risk of falls, or who have lost confidence and are afraid of falling. How can we help you? The Falls Prevention Service can help you to: Identify the cause of falls Prevent further falls Improve strength, balance, mobility and dizziness  Regain confidence Maintain independence How can I access the…

Emergency Department - waiting times Waiting times for our Emergency Department (ED) are available on our ED website page. Referral to treatment - waiting times We have put a number of measures in place to reduce waiting times for patients following the pandemic and the sustained pressure on NHS services.  We have provided additional capacity within the organisation, including extra procedure lists, additional clinics including at weekends, where possible, to reduce these waiting times. We also work with the independent sector and neighbouring NHS Trusts to increase the availability for patients to have procedures undertaken as quickly as possible. We…

Skin to skin Extensive research tells us the many benefits of skin to skin immediately after baby is born. It helps to regulate baby’s heartrate, breathing and temperature, reduces their stress levels, aids with their first feed, as well as enhancing your milk supply.   It has also been shown to have beneficial effects for the mother if they have experienced a traumatic birth.    A minimum of an hour skin to skin and offering baby their first feed during this time can help to realise these benefits.  However, there is no limit, as baby grows, skin to skin can…

The Recall action for Philips Respironics CPAP machines is ongoing. If you have not been contacted for a replacement machine, please get in touch with the Sleep Service to arrange this. Contact 07790981645 on Monday to Friday between 9am and 12am. Or send a text with your details and what is required Thank you for your patience.  Frequently asked questions about the recall  Should I carry on using my machine? Yes. CPAP treatment is the only treatment available for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS). The consequences associated with untreated OSAHS can include: higher risk of strokes…

Birth Story 1 – An emergency caesarean section ‘I had my daughter 7 weeks early on the 7th January 2022 by category 1 caesarean section. I had come in during the middle of the night for monitoring as baby’s movements felt very off. I had felt her move, but my gut instinct was telling me something was wrong. Thought I'd just go in and she would be fine on the monitor, put my mind at rest and I could go home to bed. Turned out baby was in distress and within an hour of being on the monitor, I had…