Wye Valley NHS Trust

Membrane sweeps A membrane sweep or ‘stretch and sweep’ is when the midwife or doctor inserts two fingers into the vagina, through the cervix (if it is open enough) and uses a circular sweeping motion around the membranes in order to try and stimulate your body to release the hormone prostaglandin and create tightenings. NICE guidelines suggest that a sweep can be discussed and offered to women from 39 weeks. Although a membrane sweep isn’t a formal stage in the induction of labour process, it is still classed as a method of inducing labour and is often thought of as…

Pre-employment checks Once you have been offered a post, we have to undertake a number of mandatory checks which help us to keep you, our patients, staff and visitors safe. These checks have to be completed before we can agree your start date and send you a contract. We aim to complete these checks as quickly as possible. For your information, here is a list of the checks that we carry out for everyone who applies for a job at Wye Valley NHS Trust. Identity  We will ask you to provide us with documents which confirm your identity. These documents…

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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…

Congratulations on your pregnancy!  If you are newly pregnant you will need to self-refer to Wye Valley NHS Trust in order to make your first appointment.  Your first meeting with your midwife will take place when you are between eight to ten weeks pregnant. Whether this is your first pregnancy or you have had a baby before, you may have lots of questions about what to expect from your pregnancy care at our Trust.  This section will hopefully answer these queries and give you some additional useful information. We aim to provide the best possible care and experience for mothers, babies…

When your baby is born they are still receiving oxygen and blood through the umbilical cord and placenta to allow a smooth transition into life outside of the womb. At any one time, a third of a baby’s blood volume is in their placenta. Therefore it is recommended that the cord is left unclamped until baby has received all of their blood. If the cord is left until it has stopped pulsating, baby can benefit from increased iron, oxygen and weight gain.Delayed cord clamping is now routinely practised. This is when the cord is left for at least one minute…

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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…

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…

The Delivery Suite at Hereford County Hospital provides both Consultant-led and Midwife-led care. It is situated on the second floor, adjacent to the Maternity Ward. The Delivery Suite is equipped to meet your needs and you will be offered the full range and choice of pain relief options, depending on your birth plan. Once you’ve had your baby, you’ll move to the Maternity Ward.  Our delivery suite comprises of five, good sized birthing rooms. Each room has an ensuite bathroom, birthing bed and reclining chair for birth partners. We have equipment to help you personalise your room such as projector lights,…