Obstetric Cholestasis Training DVD

By Jacqueline Smith

Having come through three OC pregnancies with healthy babies, I know that I am extremely fortunate, and am grateful to the doctors and midwives who helped ensure safe and happy outcomes. However, having had my children in different hospitals in London and Scotland, I know from my own experience that OC is often poorly understood, and that getting the right diagnosis and the best treatment can be a real struggle - something which I found traumatic, knowing that my baby was at risk.

I recently left the BBC after 12 years making programmes there - six of them producing and directing films for high-profile science series like Horizon, some of which won national and international awards. When I set up my own production company in 2006, one of the first projects I wanted to undertake was to create a DVD about OC, made with the collaboration of the best experts in the field, to be distributed to every doctor and midwife in the UK as part of their ongoing training. My aim is that medical professionals should be given the most up-to-date information about diagnosing and managing OC pregnancies, so that women get the treatment they need, and so that no family has to go through the heartache of a stillbirth which could have been avoided.

To create this vital training resource, I would produce and direct several films which would form a comprehensive course on OC. The main film would present rigorously-researched information about the diagnosis, management and treatment of the condition. Supplementary case studies would present some of the challenges which doctors and midwives may face in practice, and illustrate appropriate treatment options based upon the most recent research. Consultant to the project would be Jenny Chambers. With her many years’ work assisting OC research teams, and running the UK’s OC support network, Jenny is ideally placed to provide necessary expertise and access to leading professionals.

I have prepared a fully-costed production budget, striving to keep costs to a minimum without compromising quality. We need £16,000 to produce the DVD, and there will be added costs for copying and distributing it as widely as possible. Jenny and I are now actively seeking funding to make it happen. It is a small sum to pay for a crucial resource; but it is a lot of money to raise given that the research institutions have no budget for this type of project and we are seeking cash from voluntary sector sources.

Can anyone help? If there is any way in which you could contribute to the project, or any avenue you think we might pursue, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact Jenny Chambers via the OC Support website, or myself, Jacqueline Smith, by e-mail to jsmith@heirloommedia.co.uk. If you would like any further information about the production, its associated costs, or my own background, please do not hesitate to get in touch.