Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust celebrated the great work and dedication of its midwives as part of International Day of the Midwife.
Midwives make a huge impact at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and have implemented some fantastic initiatives to improve patient care, experience and safety. This includes the creation of the internationally recognised Theatre Cap Challenge to improve personalisation of care, the introduction of a dedicated team to improve continuity of carer, the development of the delivery suite to enhance the environment for women and their families, and a project into the importance of the golden hour of skin to skin contact to support women and their babies.
The midwifery team at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals have also been recognised in numerous awards ceremonies for their commitment and dedication to providing the best services and care possible for women and their families. The caesarean section team were named as the Team of the Year in the British Journal of Midwifery (BJM) Awards this year; and community midwives were shortlisted for the Johnson’s Award for Excellence in Maternity Care in the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Awards to name a few.
Maternity services at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals also received some excellent feedback in an annual survey of
women who have given birth in the hospitals; ranking 12th out of 69 hospitals nationally. Notable positive feedback included being offered a choice of where to have the baby and being able to see the midwife as much as they wanted.
As part of International Day of the Midwife, midwives across the hospitals have been sharing the reasons why they chose to be a midwife and why they love doing what they do.
Jodie Shuttleworth, Midwife at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, said: “I am not just doing a job, but something I have so much love and passion for. Every day is a privilege to support and care for so many women during such a personal time in their lives. I am proud to work with a close family of colleagues, and hope we can continue to achieve the best for the families we care for.”
Julie Waring, Midwife at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, said: “I can honestly say I feel honoured every day to have the experiences and interactions I have with other women and their families. It’s an absolute privilege and joy to join them on their very personal journey through pregnancy, labour, birth and motherhood. I feel I have the best job in the world.”
Gail Naylor, Nursing, Midwifery, and Allied Health Professionals Director at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, said: “Being a midwife is an amazing job which is incredibly rewarding and varied, but can at times be challenging and extremely demanding. We are so fortunate to have such fantastic midwives and support staff working in our midwifery teams who make a huge impact on our services, women and their families and our performance. Our maternity team constantly strive to ensure that we provide the highest quality service for women and their families, during such a significant time in their lives.”