A feast for our food services They are the unsung heroes in our hospital: food services
staff who deliver food to patients, take meal orders and prepare the food for our patients. Hundreds of food services staff across our local health district were recognised recently with hospital delivering food to them, while they got to enjoy a cuppa and a cake. The Thank You Food Services Day shows the district’s appreciation to support services who also work on the frontline, helping patients. In a letter by Chief Executive Deb Willcox to food services staff, she praised their commitment especially through the challenging time with COVID-19. “On behalf of us all at Northern Sydney Local Health District I would like to say a huge thank you for the vital contribution you have made found the number of women smoking during pregnancy in NSW has halved, and yet there are still some concerning trends prompting calls for targeted campaigns. Researchers from the Kolling Institute and the University of Sydney, analysed smoking rates in all pregnancies in NSW over a 22 year period from 1994 to 2016. The Women and Babies Research team found the overall smoking rates during pregnancy have more than halved from 22.1 per cent in 1994 to 8.3 per cent in 2016. The numbers fell from 19,850 women to 7,820. Director of Women and Babies Research, Professor Jonathan Morris, said the reduction in numbers was positive and reflected the
Amandeep Kaur Gill and Agnes Li enjoy a coffee and a cake at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital
as we have prepared and responded to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Deb said. “As food service staff you have played a very special role, providing our patients with a large variety of healthy
underestimate the impact you have every day. “The nutrition of our patients is critical, and your attention and care to their meals is so very important.” Staff also received a free coffee voucher. avoidable health outcomes, such as stillbirth, neonatal death, low birth weight and preterm birth.” Associate Professor Tanya Nippita said around 8000 pregnancies each year are exposed to maternal smoking, and researchers would like to see that figure drop substantially. “Armed with our research data, we believe the greatest reduction in smoking during pregnancy is likely to come from interventions targeting the four regions with the highest rates,” she said. “Tailored programs represent the best use of resources, with the potential to achieve the best results. “This is an important example of strong research data translating to improved public health outcomes.” WWW.NSLHD.HEALTH.NSW.GOV.AU 7
foods and drinks. “You must never
Research to help reduce smoking in pregnancy A large scale review has
success of anti-smoking initiatives such as plain packaging and mandatory health warnings. “The decrease however, was the lowest among younger mothers, under 25, and women from a lower socio economic background,” he said. “The data indicated the highest rates of smoking were clustered in just four areas, including Hunter New England, South Western Sydney, Western Sydney and Western NSW. “Over half the women who smoked during pregnancy lived in one these four regions, and up to 21 per cent of women in these areas continued to smoke while they were pregnant. “These trends are concerning and contributing to poor but
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