Projects supporting vulnerable women in pregnancy among winners of RCM midwifery awards
By RCM on 08 March 2018 RCM Annual Midwifery Awards
A project in Scotland to keep mothers and their poorly babies together after birth, and a service to improve maternity care for teenagers and young women with complex social problems in Wales, are some of the initiatives from winners of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Annual Midwifery Awards in London this week. The awards were presented at a ceremony in London on Tuesday, 6th March across thirteen categories
Among the winners are maternity services in Lanarkshire and Coventry. They jointly share the Midwifery Service of the Year award sponsored by Kellogg’s All- Bran.
A team from Glasgow picked up the award for Excellence in Maternity Care, sponsored by JOHNSON’S® for their project to keep mothers and poorly babies together after birth. The award for Excellence in Midwifery Education, Learning and Research, also sponsored by JOHNSON’S® was won by a midwife in Derby for a project supporting newly qualified midwives.
The Sands Award for Bereavement Care went to a team in London for their project supporting and improving care for bereaved parents. There is also an award recognising the work of maternity support workers (MSW). The winner of this award is a MSW from Bradford for her work as part of a team offering antenatal and postnatal care to women and their families in a less advantaged community in the city.
A team in South Yorkshire took the Partnership Working Award sponsored by Slimming World for their project around safeguarding of vulnerable women. Another team in Tayside scooped the Policy into Practice Award for introducing a continuity model of care and a home birth initiative. The Lansinoh Team of the year Award went to a team from London for their project supporting vulnerable pregnant women.
There were two joint winners of the award for union representative sponsored by Thompsons Solicitors, with the joint winners coming from trusts in Glasgow and East Lancashire. The Student Midwife of the year award, sponsored by Pregnacare was picked up by a student from Sheffield Hallam University.
The awards also feature a Mum’s Midwife of the Year award sponsored by Emma’s Diary. This award, voted for by mothers, has seven regional winners and one overall UK national winner. The national winner is Sarah Spencer a midwife from the University Hospital of Wales. Sarah was nominated by mum Elouise King.
There were also awards of RCM Honorary Fellowships to three midwives. These were given to David Foster, former deputy chief nursing officer at the Department of Health, Gail Johnson a RCM Education Advisor and Rona McCandlish, an independent maternity advisor.
The RCM Honorary Fellowship is for people who make an outstanding contribution, or give outstanding service, to midwifery, maternity services, services for women and their families or to the RCM.
Gill Walton, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “I have been so impressed with the quality of all those who entered this year. This shows what wonderful, innovative and ground-breaking work is going on in our maternity services to improve and make even safer the care for women, babies and their families.
“Congratulations to all the winners and to our honorary fellows. This recognition is thoroughly deserved and they will be I am sure an inspiration to other maternity teams across the UK.”
The award winners are:
1/ JOHNSON’S® Excellence in Midwifery Education, Learning and Research Award
Won by Kristen Goodall from Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
2/ Slimming World Award for Partnership Working
Won by Debbie Rees-Pollard and Melissa Simpson from Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
3/ Policy into Practice Award
Won by Iona Duckett and Michelle Carter from NHS Tayside.
4 / Maternity Support Worker of the Year Award
Won by Lucy-Jayne Downing from Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
5 / Reducing Inequalities Award
Won by Sally Roberts and Julie Morgan from Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board.
6 / Sands Award for Bereavement Care
Won by Michelle Lynch from North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust.
7/ JOHNSON'S® Award for Excellence in Maternity Care
Won by Mary Hannaway and Rhona Wilson from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
8 / RCM Caring for You Award
Won by Alison Jones and Suzanne Hardacre from NHS Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
9 / Thompsons Members’ Champion Award
Joint winners are Keelie Barrett from East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and Lisa Allan from NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde.
10/ Pregnacare® Award for Student Midwife of the Year
Won by Gemma Ford from Sheffield Hallam University.
11/ Lansinoh Award for Team of the Year
Won by the Ruby Specialist Midwifery Team for Vulnerable Women from Barts Health NHS Trust.
12/ Kellogg's All-Bran Award for Midwifery Service of the Year
Won jointly by the midwifery services at NHS Lanarkshire and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
13 / Emma’s Diary Mums’ Midwife of the Year Award
The overall national winner is midwife Sarah Spencer, from the University Hospital of Wales, who was nominated by mother Elouise King.
RCM Honorary Fellowships
David Foster, Gail Johnson and Rona McCandlish.
For more information about the awards visit the RCM website at http://www.rcmawards.com/awards-day.
For more information and pictures of the award winners contact the RCM Media Office on 020 7312 3456, or email [email protected].
Ends
Notes to editors
The RCM is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team. We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences and online resources. For more information visit the RCM website at https://www.rcm.org.uk/.