EUROPEAN STANDARD IN EARLY CLEFT CARE: UPDATE
At the beginning of last year the European Cleft Organisation (ECO) launched a formal proposal to develop a European Standard in the early management of babies born with clefts in an attempt to halt the abandonment of babies with clefts in some parts of Europe.
Whilst our proposal was widely supported, some countries had concerns that the introduction of a standard could interfere with local practice and go against national health policies.
ECO addressed these concerns at an information meeting in Brussels in November 2011 and prepared a response document that can be seen on our website at www.ECOonline.org. Most concerns have arisen out of miscommunication rather than the substance of what we are trying to achieve.
Executive Director Gareth Davies says "this is about sharing best practice for the benefit of children all over Europe. The Standard will be developed by an international panel of experts drawing on what is already in place in many countries" . We will be organising further meetings in the first half of 2012 and plan to re-launch an amended proposal during the year.