Children and Family Health Surrey (CFHS) has been awarded the prestigious UNICEF Gold Accreditation in the Baby Friendly Initiative, solidifying commitment to providing the highest standard of care for local families.
This distinguished accreditation recognises health visiting services that implement and maintain evidence-based standards to support infant feeding and infant-parent relationships. The Baby Friendly Initiative supports parents to have close relationships with their baby and feed their baby in ways which will support optimum health and development.
Dionne Grogan, one of the three Infant Feeding Leads for CFHS said: “This is a shared achievement which recognises the hard work, care and dedication of our health visiting teams and the families we visit every day.
“We are incredibly proud to receive this recognition from UNICEF. It reinforces our commitment to helping parents to feel confident and supported with feeding their babies and building strong family bonds from the very beginning."
Sandra Pycock, Director of Children’s Services at CSH Surrey, part of Children and Family Health Surrey, said: “I am absolutely delighted and proud of our teams' gold achievement. It recognises their commitment to providing high quality services and the outcomes of their work that can be achieved early in a child's life that will have lifelong impact.”
The accreditation sets a new standard for children and family health services across the region and serves as an inspiration for other health care providers to strive for excellence in supporting infant and family health.
For more information about the Baby Friendly Initiative and the Gold Accreditation, visit UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative.
Image (l-r): CFHS Infant Feeding Leads - Lucy Rabot, Maggie Pringle and Dionne Grogan