Best practice for health practitioners DVD

This 17-minute DVD outlines the responsibilities of Lead Maternity Carers (LMCs) and provides best practice advice for the Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme.

Download and view the Lead Maternity Carers DVD  (.wmv / 23193kb)

Best practice key messages

The key messages accompany the DVD and contain best practice reminders and the metabolic disorders currently screened for by the Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme.

Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme Best Practice Key Messages --*/    - 458Kb

NSU directives

This paper provides information on best practice for heel warming, pain relief, and lancet use.

Heel pricks – warming, pain relief and lancet use --*/    - 27Kb

This paper provides information about the addition of fatty acid oxidation disorders to the Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme in December 2006.

Screening for Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders --*/    - 37Kb

Protocols

This protocol describes screening for specific metabolic disorders in newborns that are admitted to SCBU.

SCBU protocol - May 2008 --*/    - 116Kb

This protocol describes screening for specific metabolic disorders in newborns that are admitted to NICU.

NICU protocol - May 2008 --*/    - 116Kb

Recommended links

New Zealand Organisation for Rare Disorders
The New Zealand Organisation for Rare Disorders (NZORD) provides New Zealand's central starting point for information about rare disorders.  NZORD can refer parents/caregivers to support groups for specific metabolic disorders.

Cystic Fibrosis Association of New Zealand
The Cystic Fibrosis Association of New Zealand website provides information about Cystic Fibrosis.
 
March of Dimes
The March of Dimes website contains information about pregnancy, birth and the health of babies.  Because it is an overseas site, not all information will be relevant to New Zealand.  For example, the site mentions some disorders that are not currently screened for in New Zealand.

Newborn Screening Info
The Newborn Screening Info website provides fact sheets on the metabolic disorders screened in the New Zealand programme.  It includes descriptions of each disorder and how they can be detected and treated.

Information for parents/guardians

DVD for parents/guardians about newborn metabolic screening

 

This six-minute DVD explains to parents/guardians how screening can indicate if their baby has an increased chance of having a metabolic disorder. 

Download and view the Heel Prick information for Parents DVD (.wmv / 8739kb)

Factsheets

This brochure explains how newborn metabolic screening works, and what disorders are screened for.

Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme - your newborn baby's blood test --*/    - 171Kb

This resource is for parents/guardians whose baby has been diagnosed with Congenital Hypothyroidism.

Congenital Hypothyroidism and your baby - --*/  - 954Kb

This resource is for parents/guardians whose baby has been diagnosed with MCAD deficiency.
 
Medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency: a factsheet for parents/carers --*/    - 140Kb

This information sheet explains how screening for metabolic disorders was expanded in December 2006.

Newborn Metabolic Screening Programme: Expanded Screening --*/    - 145Kb

Return request form

Parents and individuals can use this form to request the return of their blood spots after testing is complete.

Return of newborn metabolic screening samples (guthrie cards) to family --*/- 45Kb

Memorandum of Understanding with the New Zealand Police

The Ministry of Health and the New Zealand Police have signed a Memorandum of Understanding relating to police access to newborn blood spot samples. The Memorandum came into effect on 28 February 2006. The Memorandum regulates requests from the Police to the Ministry for access to samples, and clarifies the circumstances in which requests may be granted. To date, blood spot cards have been used by police once or twice a year to identify dead or missing persons, mostly with parental consent - for instance when a child dies in a house fire.

Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Health and the New Zealand Police relating to the disclosure of newborn blood spot cards and related information