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NMH Annual Report 2020

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70 Maternity and Obstetrics 2020 | NMH Annual Rep t Currently the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland is completing the new Model of Care for Diabetes and Pregnancy in Ireland. A multidisciplinary team of endocrinologists, midwives, nurses, obstetricians, dietitians, patient advocates and programme advisors has been formed and is actively working on the project since September 2020. There is good representation from the NMH with Prof Mensud Hatunic, Hilary Devine, Ciara Coveney and Prof Mary Higgins (Co- Chair) all active members of the committee. The Endocrinology Fellow until July 2020, Dr Dalal S Ali, published a research paper in Diabetes Therapy on the outcomes in the NMH of patients with Pre- gestational Diabetes (Ali DS, Davern R, Rutter E, Coveney C, Devine H, Walsh JM, et al. Pre-Gestational Diabetes and Pregnancy Outcomes. Diabetes Ther. 2020). We welcome the new Endocrinology Fellow, Dr Recie Davern, who will complete a two year MD research study in Thyroid Function Tests in Pregnancy. Dr Niamh Keating joined the team in July 2019 as part of her two-year fellowship in Maternal Medicine, where she will also be completing research to MD level in Diabetes and Pregnancy. Niamh's research plans changed, like so many things, due to the pandemic. Of interest to this specialty, she is investigating the impact of fenugreek supplementation during the postnatal period on breastfeeding, and clinical outcomes following the change to a new screening method for GDM. During the summer of 2020 the team welcomed medical students who completed clinical research electives with us. Sadhb Frisson Roche and Aonghus McCarthy completed two studies under the supervision of Dr Jennifer Walsh. These were an "Comparison of Obstetric and Neonatal Outcomes in Normal weight versus Obese Pregnant Women with Gestational Diabetes" and "Outcomes of Pregnancies Complicated by Gestational Diabetes according to a Validated Core Outcome Set (COS)". Margaret Henkhaus and Matthew Kelly competed an audit of outcomes of women with Pre-Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (PGDM) that informed this report and we are grateful for their hard work. We wish all four students the very best when they graduate in July 2021. The diabetes team conducted an audit about insulin safety and documentation within the hospital. The results of this are being used to drive a Rapid Improvement Exercise using Lean Methodology to help improve insulin prescribing and safety within NMH. Ciara Coveney, Registered Advanced Midwife Practitioner (AMP), has presented the diabetes midwifery virtual clinics at many virtual conferences and webinars throughout 2020. She is also a member of the hospital telehealth implementation team and the HSE Telehealth Acute Leads Team. In June 2020, Usha Daniel, a longstanding member of the team and the NMH Diabetes AMP retired. We wish Usha the very best in her retirement. Ciara Coveney was promoted to the Registered Advanced Midwife Practitioner role following Usha's retirement. Hannah Rooney and Sally Byrne joined the team and we are very grateful to have them on board. The dietetic and catering department worked together to create a new suite of diabetes recipes and food photography for the hospital diabetes menu. Special thanks to head chef Paul Humphreys for his work on this. Laura Harrington, Dietitian returned to the team at the end of 2020, alongside Clinical Specialist dietitian Hilary Devine and Catherine Chambers. Thanks also to Naomi Hastings, locum dietitian who contributed incredibly to the team before taking a new role at the Rotunda. The team is committed, hardworking and multidisciplinary, benefitting from the mutual respect of all the team members. The team has always had excellent representation from Dietetics (Hilary Devine, Catherine Chambers and Laura Harrington), Midwifery (Ciara Coveney, Eimear Rutter, Hannah Rooney, Sally Byrne and Usha Daniel), Endocrinology (Prof Mensud Hatunic, Dr Dalal S Ali, Dr Recie Davern (Fellow)) Obstetrics (Prof Mary Higgins, Dr Jennifer Walsh, Dr Rhona Mahony, Dr Niamh Keating (Fellow)) and administration (Helen McCrimmon). It is a pleasure to work with this team in the care of women with complex medical needs. The diabetes team conducted an audit about insulin safety and documentation within the hospital. The results of this are being used to drive a Rapid Improvement Exercise using Lean Methodology to help improve insulin prescribing and safety within NMH.

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