http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/oct/09/breastfeeding-link-to-social-mobility

We are in the middle of proposed legislation on our National Health
Service which could result in huge changes in many ways.  Already there
are huge reorganisations, with responsiblity for Public Health (where
strategic leadership for breastfeeding resides) expected to move to local
government (away from the health service).  We are awaiting the Public
Health outcomes framework, which will tell us which indicators the govt /
Department of Health will want to monitor in future.  Currently,the local
NHS organisations (Primary Care Trusts) have to legally report on a
variety of indicators, including the rate for the local population of
breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks.  The data they return must cover at least 95%
of the babies due a 6-8 week check (reported quarterly).  The requirement
for this reporting has really pulled socks up in local NHS management of
breastfeeding as managers like to report success and not failure and get
penalised for the latter.

I typed all this in to try and provide some context for this story, but
expect to anyone outside the UK it is all a bit much to try and understand
our whole system!  Anyway, this sotry is good news for us, I think. We are
also looking forward to some really interesting presentations at this
year's annual UNICEF Baby Friendly conference:
http://www.unicef.org.uk/BabyFriendly/Health-Professionals/Conferences/This-years-conference/

Magda Sachs
Public Health Manager (Infant Feeding)
NHS Salford, UK

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome