No images? Click here Welcome from Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, Chief Midwifery Officer for EnglandToday marks the International Day of the Midwife. I’m proud to be part of the highly-skilled profession of midwifery, and want to thank midwifery colleagues across the NHS for all you do to support women, babies and their families, day in day out. We are at a seminal moment in maternity care following Donna Ockenden’s final report, and are striving as one NHS to improve maternity services and offer the very best care to parents babies and families. The NHS has already taken significant steps to kickstart transformation of maternity services with investment of £127 million over the next two years to boost our workforce, strengthen leadership and improve culture, on top of the £95 million annual increase that was announced last year for recruitment and training. We are focussed now, more than ever, on transforming how we deliver care and support, as well as tackling health inequalities - midwives are key to this journey. This is the right time for all of us to reflect on the unique and significant contribution that we make to families and babies, but also to consider what we can do individually, and as a team, to ensure safe and personalised care for everyone. We continue to support the births of around 1,600 babies every day since the start of the pandemic, and have worked tirelessly to care for women and babies in extraordinarily challenging circumstances. I want to thank each one of you for your dedication and hard work. As well as being chief midwifery officer, I am still a practising midwife too, and this year we want to recognise some of the diverse roles in midwifery. From midwives who specialise in diabetes, bereavement, multiple births, FGM, screening, fetal and maternal medicine, research and so many other specialist roles to the Consultant Midwife, Digital Midwife and other developing and emerging midwifery all of which make such a difference to the care we offer our families. This year the Royal College of Midwives and the International Confederation of Midwives is highlighting 100 years of progress, and within our NHS profession we have made key progress and steps forward, particularly in recent years. We surpassed the National Maternity Safety Ambition of a 20% reduction in stillbirths and neonatal deaths in England by 2020, with a 25.2% reduction in stillbirths and 36% reduction in neonatal mortality, through key measures such as the transformative Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle. Also, despite the challenges we have faced in maternity services, the stillbirth rate in England has reached its lowest level on record at 3.8 stillbirths per 1,000 births in 2020, a decrease from 5.1 stillbirths per 1,000 births in 2010. However, we don’t work alone – and I would like to also thank all our colleagues who work so closely with us for our service users, such as the amazing maternity support workforce, obstetricians, neonatologists, obstetric physicians, gynaecologist, sonographers, cleaners, ward clerks, neonatal nurses, health visitors - the list is endless! So, midwives across the country, I’d love to see you share a story or fact about your role or career journey on Twitter using the hashtag #IDM2022 and Twibbon, and tag me in @TeamCMidO as well as @teamCNO_. I'd also like to celebrate the fantastic achievement of Wendy Olayiwola and Nina Khazaezadeh who were made fellows of the RCM recently. They are both amazing women and have done excellent work and so deserve this honour! Latest newsHere for Life campaign: empowering midwives to tell their own stories The Here for Life campaign, launching on 12 May, will empower midwives and nurses to tell their own stories, so that the general public will develop a fuller understanding of the breadth and diversity of midwifery and nursing roles and expertise, and the impact that these professions have on individual patients/clients and on our society as a whole. Led by the RCN Foundation on behalf of the five Chief Nursing Officers of the UK and Ireland, the campaign supports the launch of Enabling Professionalism 2022 – a new framework, published today, that will help midwives to confidently articulate who they are, what they do and what midwifery ‘is’ in 2022. The Here for Life campaign is asking registered midwives and nurses to share their own story on social media on 12 May using #HereforLife with the aim of reaching 830,000 posts – one for every midwife and nurse in the UK and Ireland. This can be a single image or video clip that gives an example of something you do in your role that makes you ‘Here for Life’ or that sums up who you are and what you do as a midwife. The campaign will also be asking the public to get involved by sharing a photo or story of a moment when the skills of a midwife made a significant difference to them or a loved one so please spread the word and on 12 May ask your colleagues, friends and family to also post using #HereforLife. The campaign officially launches on 12 May so please don’t use #HereforLife until then. Supporting pregnant women using maternity services and access for parents of babies in neonatal units Guidance has been published for NHS providers of maternity services to facilitate pregnant women having a support person of their choosing (such as a partner, friend or relative) with them at all antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal contacts and parents of babies on neonatal units having access to their babies. Newly updated Immunisation on Neonatal Units programme now available Health Education England e-learning for healthcare (HEE eLfH) has worked in partnership with Thames Valley and Wessex Neonatal Operational Delivery Networks (ODN) to make significant updates to the Immunisation on Neonatal Units elearning programme. The single session discusses and reviews the issues surrounding vaccination of pre-term infants while resident on a neonatal unit, such as who can give consent, why it is important to administer routine immunisations at the appropriate time and when a delay in vaccination timing may be appropriate. It also includes information on vaccination schedule and best practice for the administration of injections. There is a national minimum standard for immunisations training and this session is suggested as an additional component for those with a role in immunisation in neonatal units, such as neonatal nurses, midwives and nursing associates. On completion of the session, which takes approximately 40 minutes to complete, learners will gain new knowledge and skills, including:
For more information and to access the session, please visit the Immunisation on Neonatal Units programme page. New taskforce to level-up maternity care and tackle disparities The taskforce will explore inequalities in maternity care and identify how the government can improve outcomes for women from ethnic minority communities and those living in deprived areas. The taskforce is established by Minister for Patient Safety and Primary Care, Maria Caulfield, and co-chaired by Chief Midwifery Officer, Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE. More information here: New taskforce to level-up maternity care and tackle disparities - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ConfedExpo 2022 On 15 and 16 June 2022 we're uniting with NHS Confederation to deliver one of the most important events in the health care calendar: NHS ConfedExpo. The event, at ACC Liverpool, will bring together senior leaders from the NHS, SMEs, commercial organisations, charities and more to discuss key issues, share successes and explore how we can support each other to improve patient care. NHS ConfedExpo will provide a space and time for face-to-face conversations to happen between health and care professionals across the NHS, wider public sector and commercial services, so join the conversation and book your pass online. Free places are offered to NHS, local government and wider public sector staff. Please check with your line manager before registering. NHS Big Conversation for Improvement 11 & 12 May – Register now! Join colleagues across health and social care on 11 and 12 May for the NHS Big Conversation for Improvement. Designed around busy schedules, this two-day flexible free virtual event will bring together people to share experiences and ideas and celebrate the improvements made by people in their interactions with health and care services. We will also host the inaugural National Improvement Awards and open conversations where the sessions are led by you. For further details and to register or submit an award or open conversation submission visit the Big Conversation website.
Covid newsUpdated Covid-19 guidance for providers New guidance has been published updated Covid-19 guidance for providers on supporting pregnant women using maternity services and access for parents of babies in neonatal units. It is available online here. The guidance has been streamlined and updated to reflect wider changes, including changes on testing. It does not include any new requirements. The wider position on testing in an update to the system on 30 March. Supporting our workforceFlorence Nightingale fellowship programme update Through the Florence Nightingale fellowship programme, Dawn Cross, a Midwife from Chesterfield Royal Hospital, will be joining the Digital Child Health and Maternity team in May. She will be with us for a year to support the clinical team and a piece of work on a competency framework for digital midwives as well as supporting other work around digital maternity standards. She will be working alongside Julia Gudgeon, National Digital Midwife Lead for Maternity. Funding to support midwifery retention The NHS in England has announced a £127 million funding boost for maternity services across England that will help ensure safer and more personalised care for women and their babies. Funding is available for each maternity unit in England to continue the enhancement of supernumerary support to midwives, including newly qualified and return to midwifery practice learners. The funding of £50,000 per maternity unit in England is available in 2022/23 only to enable continued focus on retention and pastoral support activities. More than £50 million will be provided to Trusts across the country over the next two years to boost staffing numbers in maternity and neonatal services. Around £34 million will also be invested in local maternity systems, in culture and leadership development programmes and in supporting staff retention roles. In addition, £45 million of capital funding will be available to hospitals over the next three years to increase the number neonatal cots across England, so that babies will receive the best quality care, in the most appropriate clinical setting. The funding could provide local support within the unit to students, return to practice learners and early career midwives to enhance their experience of work and promote retention in the maternity workforce. please contact NHSI.Workforce@nhs.net or visit this webpage for more information. NICE Obstetric Suite Guideline Committee, for the update of the NICE guideline on intrapartum care for healthy women and babies The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is looking to recruit a committee member to be part of a clinical guideline on intrapartum care for healthy women and babies. This guideline is halfway through development and the successful applicant will work in collaboration with the staff of NICE to complete the update of the guideline. NICE is looking for a practicing healthcare professional with demonstrable relevant experience, clinical knowledge and expertise in midwifery, with a focus on community care. We are seeking applications from community midwives. If you or any of your colleagues would like to apply, there are more details on the NICE website. Applications must be sent to NGAApplications@nice.org.uk for the attention of Hayley Shaw, Project Manager. NICE would appreciate it if you could circulate this information widely in your organisation and to any other people or organisations who may be interested in this topic. If you have any queries about Committee membership or the recruitment process, please contact Hilary Eadon on email at Hilary.Eadon@nice.org.uk. Equity and equalityThe 2021 MBRRACE-UK report revealed the stark disparity in maternal mortality between women from Black and Asian aggregated groups and White women. In response to this, the South East Perinatal Mental Health Clinical Delivery Team commissioned an educational film to raise awareness of the issue of race within health care settings. The film uncovers the stories behind the MBRRACE report figures and looks for answers from leading race and diversity health professionals and campaigners. Midwives and families talk frankly about the issues and how individuals can make a difference to create a positive impact on race inequality outcomes. A special thank you must go to those individuals who bravely shared their own compelling stories. It was vital that the film not only highlighted the issues but also offered workable solutions that show everyone has a part to play to make a difference. Two universities have already included the film as part of their professional midwifery training degree and a number of Trusts are using the film as part of induction and training. The film can be viewed on the South East Clinical Network website along with other resources. Maternity safety and quality improvementOckenden update The Ockenden – Final report from the independent review of maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust was published on 30 March. Donna Ockenden and her team have set out the terrible failings suffered by families at what should have been the most special time of their lives. This report must act as an immediate call to action for all commissioners and providers of maternity and neonatal services who need to ensure lessons are rapidly learned and service improvements for women, babies, and their families are driven forward as quickly as possible. NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with the Department of Health and Social Care to implement the 15 Immediate & Essential Actions (IEAs) and every provider board must consider and then act on the report’s findings. We have announced significant investment to kick-start transformation of maternity services with investment of £127 million over the next two years, on top of the £95 million annual increase that was started last year. This will fund further workforce expansion, leadership development, capital to increase neonatal cot capacity, additional support to local maternity systems and retention support. You can find out more about the NHS response to the report here.
Chief Midwifery Officer AwardsOur nursing and midwifery awards are for people who have gone above and beyond their duty. The following are those awarded since the last issue of this bulletin:CMidO Gold
CMidO Silver
Useful resourcesQuick links to resources you might find useful - to be updated Improving equity and equality in maternity and neonatal care Make every contact count – pregnancy Covid-19 vaccination infographic |