Calling for support

Breedagh Hughes, RCM UK Board for Northern Ireland board director

RCM Board elections
Elections for the new RCM Board will be taking place during the summer. We will be encouraging midwives in Northern Ireland (NI) to use their vote to influence the selection of the new Board, who will be tasked with providing strategic direction to the RCM. The University of Ulster’s Patricia Gillen, the only candidate from NI, has successfully passed through the selection procedure.

Securing campaign support
Having launched our maternity manifesto in March, we are now in the process of following up our members of the legislative assembly to secure their support for our campaign to protect and develop maternity services in NI. Following a recent meeting with the chairman of the Assembly Health Committee, a motion has been drafted for debate in the Assembly, calling for a reduction of caesarean section rates in NI.

Upcoming events
We held a very successful joint bereavement conference with SANDS in June and look forward to further collaborative work in this area. Booking forms for the annual joint conference on 13 October in County Cavan will be circulated to maternity units.

Maternity services review
Eagerly awaiting the publication of the draft maternity services review consultation document, we will be meeting with many of you throughout the summer to discuss what this means for midwives in NI.

Congratulations
We are delighted to congratulate Shona Hamilton who has been appointed consultant midwife by the NHSCT and Denise Boulter on her appointment to a new commissioning midwife post by
the Public Health Agency.