Membership Matters

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

March 2023

New maternity bereavement suite opens at York Hospital

A new maternity bereavement unit, the Butterfly Suite, has opened at York Hospital thanks to the support of staff and local people and a generous donation from the York branch of the stillbirth and neonatal charity, Sands.

An appeal was launched by York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity to raise £250,000 to create the Butterfly Suite, opening with a £94,672 donation from Sands. It received huge support from the local community and hospital staff, reaching its target despite the pandemic.

While the hospital did have a designated room for parents to use and stay in with their baby, it was quite small and functional. The new suite offers more space, privacy, and is specifically designed to give families somewhere they feel safe and cared for at an incredibly difficult time.

The hospital held an opening day, organised by York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity, to thank those who helped make the project possible.

Junior doctors' industrial action

Members of the British Medical Association in England will go on strike for 96 hours between 6.59am on Tuesday, April 11 and 6.59am on Saturday, April 15. This will impact on services at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

During strike action, urgent and emergency treatment will be our priority. We are working closely with union representatives to ensure plans are in place to maintain safe care for patients, while facilitating and respecting the right of those staff who wish to take legal industrial action.

Please be assured that you can continue to access care from our emergency departments (ED) and maternity services, and critical services for our inpatients.

We will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action, either by text or phone. If we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned. We will be re-arranging any postponed appointments as a priority. We appreciate this situation is frustrating for patients affected and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

New app increases access for maternity patients

A new electronic system is available to pregnant women across the Trust, giving them more access to and control of their pregnancy records and care notes.

The online portal and app, known as Badger Notes, has been launched to enable patient access to maternity records over the internet through a PC, tablet device, or mobile phone. The information is generated in real-time from the hospital’s maternity system record, using details entered by a midwife or other health professionals involved in the patient’s care.