A midwife at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been awarded an NHS Safeguarding Star Award for her work to promote safer sleep for babies.
Deborah Gibbons, Lead Midwife for Safeguarding at the Trust, was awarded the prestigious accolade for her work around Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC), which is the sudden and unexplained death of a child aged 1-18, as well as her work to embed safer sleep assessments across the Trust.
An emotional Deborah – unaware of her nomination - was surprised with the award at the SUDC group by Catherine Randall from NHS England (National Associate Director of Safeguarding), with Elizabeth Radcliffe (Deputy Director of Quality, Regional Safeguarding & Investigations Lead, (NHS England North West Clinical Directorate) and Jane Jones (Deputy Director for Safeguarding, NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board) also present.
She was rewarded for her work around SUDC prevention and championing safer sleep, where she has embedded a safer sleep assessment.
The Lullaby Trust (2018) advises that around 200 babies still die every year as a result of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) in the UK, and while there has been a significant reduction in infant deaths, largely due to an increase in evidence-based knowledge and practice, rates within Pan-Lancashire remain high and are consistently higher than the national average, with unsafe sleeping arrangements a feature.
The safer sleep assessment tool has been built into Badgernet – an electronic medical record and perinatal care service – and is well embedded within maternity and neo natal services. The childrens’ ward - Ward 8, paediatric assessment unit and community outreach commenced the use of the tool in November 2021, and it has been rolled out in the emergency department and urgent care.
The purpose of the safer sleep assessment tool is for staff to discuss with parents and identify where babies and infants sleep, implementing safer infant sleep practices, and informing families of the risks of unsafe practices, including bed-sharing/co-sleeping; and to ensure consistent advice.
Upon receiving the award, Deborah said: “It was a nice surprise, they made me cry with all the lovely things they said about me, all the work I have done and my commitment and compassion.
“You can’t do it on your own though, it’s a team effort – the matrons and staff within the Trust have really helped push the safer sleep assessment forward, and our admin.”
Talking about her work, she added: “I’ve led on six Safer Sleep videos, including when out of routine, as a number of sudden and unexpected deaths have occurred when babies have been on holiday, staying with grandparents etc. We started embedding the safer sleep assessment, and we’re continuing that work along with the ICON (Infant crying is normal, Comforting methods can help, it’s OK to walk away, Never, ever shake a baby) work we have been doing.
“It’s about making sure we’re giving consistent advice and seeing where babies are sleeping both in the day and at night, giving families the right advice and making sure you advertise and tell parents everything they need to know.”
