Wye Valley NHS Trust

It is there to improve our health and wellbeing, supporting us to keep mentally and physically well, to get better when we are ill and, when we cannot fully recover, to stay as well as we can to the end of our lives. It works at the limits of science – bringing the highest levels of human knowledge and skill to save lives and improve health. It touches our lives at times of basic human need, when care and compassion are what matter most. The NHS is founded on a common set of principles and values that bind together the…

Welcome Welcome to the Special Care Baby Unit at Hereford County Hospital located on the second floor.  Your baby may be on the unit because they require additional care. Our staff are all here to support you and help care for your baby. On this website page, you will find helpful information about parental access to the unit, visiting arrangements, what you may need, quiet time, feeding your baby, and useful links to information and support.  Please see the menu on the right side of this page to access this helpful information. We have two video tours of the Special…

The Community Stroke Service provides therapy and rehabilitation for clients in their own homes post stroke within the Herefordshire area. The Community Stroke Service is made up of two pathways:  Early Supported Discharge (ESD)       Community Stroke Service (CSS)    Following referral, the Community Stroke Service will assess you and, if required, develop a programme of therapy designed to meet your individual needs.  The Community Stroke Service consists of different therapists:  Physiotherapy Occupational Therapy                   Speech and Language Therapy Therapy Support Workers Clinical Psychology As a team we aim to:  set realistic, meaningful goals understand your stroke and manage your condition as independently…

Welcome to Wye Valley NHS Trust maternity service This section is designed to support you through your pregnancy, birth and beyond, with up to date, evidence based information to enable you to make informed choices throughout your maternity journey. A warm welcome to our Maternity department and congratulations on the beginning of your journey into parenthood.  As a maternity team, we work together to provide women and babies with the best possible care and a healthy and positive birthing outcome for all. We believe in an equitable service for all women and follow compliance with national directives and agenda’s to…

In December 2017, Wye Valley NHS Trust embarked on a fundraising appeal to improve the maternity bereavement facilities, services and aftercare support provided at Hereford County Hospital. A project group was formed to oversee the project. This included patient representatives to look at existing practices and procedures to ensure the new facility offered meets the needs of bereaved families and continually developed, reviewed and improved. The vision was set out in three stages. The first stage was to provide a separate counselling room (to be situated at the end of the second floor corridor) to allow families a separate space…

There is now strong evidence to say that homebirth is as safe as giving birth in hospital with many other psycho-social benefits.  Hutton et al (2019) state that ‘The risk of perinatal or neonatal mortality was not different when birth was intended at home or in hospital’. The Birthplace Study which involved 17,000 cases showed that homebirth is just as safe as giving birth in hospital for second or subsequent births. A possible explanation for this is that labouring in hospital is much more likely to involve interventions, which can interfere with normal physiology and cause further problems such as…

We have introduced a new maternity electronic patient record system.  This means that we no longer use paper forms for recording information about your maternity care. It only applies to the maternity service, which is from your first point of contact with one of our midwives through to when you are discharged from the care of your midwife to a health visitor.  Our midwifery team now record this information on the new electronic system online on a computer or iPad.   This means that we can access information about your maternity care in one place, safely and securely at all…

About the service Our health visiting teams work with families, early years, health colleagues and other agencies to support the health and wellbeing of pre-school children across Herefordshire. Health visitors are qualified nurses or midwives who have additional training in specialist community and public health nursing. They have specialist training in children's development and health promotion. The health visiting teams comprise health visitors, community staff nurses, and community nursery nurses. As a service, we are committed to supporting the training of students, so students may accompany us during visits. If you would prefer for a student not to be present,…

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…

Hereford County Hospital address The postcode and address is Stonebow Road, The County Hospital, Hereford, HR1 2BN Accident & Emergency location The Accident & Emergency (A&E) department is located at the far end of the main hospital building. All patients and visitors to this department must use the designated A&E entrance. There is a drop-off and collection point at the main A&E entrance, and designated parking spaces for individuals with disabilities. The parking area is managed by a private contractor and charges apply, though concessions are available. There is more information on how to find us and available parking.