The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Finalist 2013, The My Family Care Best for all Stages of Motherhood Award
Sector: Healthcare
Location: Yorkshire
Employees: 8,000
Mid Yorkshire’s maternity, adoption and paternity support includes workshops, one to one advice and support, baby massage and baby yoga classes, nursery visits, parentcraft classes and a keep in touch scheme during and after maternity leave. This suite of support is designed to help parents transition from and to work when becoming a parent, and to encourage retention of these staff.
The workshop includes presentations on the terms and condition of maternity, adoption, paternity leave and legislation that relates to parents. Guidance and support is provided on the financial help that is available. The Trust will discuss the implications of different types of childcare and provide advice on what parents need to look for when choosing childcare. A pack is given to everyone attending the workshops, which includes a variety of information that supports new mothers before and after their leave, which includes flexible working options . Parents are encouraged to contact the Trust during maternity leave and ask any questions prior to coming back to work so that they can be supported through the process of finding the right childcare and applying for flexible working.
Baby yoga/massage classes are run on-site to support new parents. External speakers are invited to give information talks on a range of topics that support parents. It is an informal session where parents feel confident enough to ask questions about returning to work, flexible working and share their own personal experiences, which in turn supports other members of the group. A keep-in-touch quarterly newsletter is sent to their home while on maternity leave, to keep them informed of the latest information regarding childcare and carers within the Trust, and nationally. They send out over 1,000 newsletters to new parents on our keep in touch scheme.
The childminding network membership has been extended to include the whole of the West Yorkshire area to accommodate the large geographical area that the Trusts cover, adding to support for parents whose children need daycare.
A holiday club is run throughout all the school holidays and offers a flexible service on a first come first served basis. Parents can use the club for half a day or full-time.
The Trust has its own intranet pages, which have all the childcare and carers booking forms, including the onsite nurseries and holiday club as well as information and frequently asked questions about choosing childcare.
The Trust’s Occupational Health department supports staff by providing positive advice during pregnancy, and about maintaining healthy balance between work and home demands.