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…

Wye Valley NHS Trust is looking for high quality, committed registered Nurses and Health Care Support Workers. If you are looking for flexible work to fit around your commitments our Nurse Bank could be just what you are looking for. We can offer regular work or occasional shifts to fit around your lifestyle. Whatever your availability we value your skills and experience and can provide you with a fantastic opportunity to work with us in a way that suits your lifestyle. What can we offer you? A fully paid Trust Induction if you need one Access to full training Flexible…

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…

We offer learners who are part of a further education (FE) programme and, as a cohorted group, would like to come and join the organisation as part of a rotation programme.

Health Care Support Workers  Do you want to make a difference to people’s lives? Is working in health care the career for you? Our recruitment specialists are available for you to meet with, to discuss your possible career in health care at Wye Valley NHS Trust.   We have a number of full time and part time Health Care Support Worker (HCSW) opportunities available across the Trust to applicants  with or without previous health care experience,  who are wanting to develop a career in health care.   This is a great opportunity to gain new skills, experience and knowledge for those who may…

Preparing for your hospital stay and what to bring with you

Labour can be categorised into the latent phase of labour and the active/established stage. The pain relief options will be slightly different for each stage. The Latent Phase This is the early phase of labour where your cervix will be softening and getting ready for established labour.  You may experience some period type discomfort and irregular tightening’s, the sensations you feel will most likely be in your lower abdomen and lower back as your cervix softens. For this stage of labour, there are lots of things you can do to help yourself feel more comfortable: Use a hot water bottle…

You should take a lateral flow test if you have COVID-19 symptoms, even if your symptoms are mild. If you develop COVID-19 symptoms, please follow the guidelines on the NHS 111 website and temporarily stop taking your Rheumatology medication (see table below), EXCEPT for steroids (Prednisolone), Hydroxychloroquine and Sulfasalazine,until you are fully recovered. This advice applies for any infection. You may be eligible to receive anti-viral medication against COVID-19 If your test is positive, you must report your result athttps://www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result  or by calling 119. Your local health board will contact you to arrange a telephone appointment with a healthcare professional who will decide whether…

Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL) producing Organism information for patients This information will be given to patients in hospital if they have a positive result for this organism.

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…