The midwifery service at RWT is a dynamic, committed and innovative workforce. Midwives work autonomously and alongside our medical colleagues and multidisciplinary teams. The scope within the midwifery profession is vast ranging from Midwives that deliver midwifery led care on the Midwifery Led Unit (MLU) to Midwives that work in fast high pace high risk areas such as our consultant led unit, post/ ante natal wards, Fetal assessment, maternity triage unit, Induction of labour unit, day assessment unit and outpatient settings. We work closely within our Local Maternity and Neonatal System, accepting transfers for those women whose baby may require care on our level three neonatal intensive care unit.

RWT also has a team of Community Midwives who carry a case load of women and who will deliver care across the whole maternity pathway – community midwives are skilled at home birth.

Midwives are highly skilled professionals; often working autonomously and making decisions, recognising complications and the need for escalation very quickly.

At RWT Midwives pride themselves for being women and family centred and integral to women’s and neonatal health.

Specialist Midwives

These are midwives that focus on specialist areas and carry higher risk caseloads of women.

• Digital technology
• Professional development
• Public health/ infant feeding
• Diabetes
• Twin and multiple birth
• Governance
• Bereavement
• Vulnerable women
• Safeguarding
• Continuity of Care
• Audit

Professional Midwifery Advocate (PMA)

Our PMA’s are vital to the profession. They offer pastoral support to midwives and are advocates for education and development, quality improvement and offer restorative clinical supervision.

Quality Experience and Normality leads (QEN)

This role is unique to our trust. It is a role that has been commended nationally. The QEN role offers support, enables mentors, supervises, develops and confidence builds our newly qualified midwives. They are highly experienced intrapartum midwives and will work along side newly qualified midwives. They ensure the correct level of support is in place and provided whilst our newest recruits settle into our midwifery service.

Health care and Midwifery support workers

These are roles that are vital to the service, they are roles that support and enhance the woman and her new-born’s care throughout her pregnancy journey and following birth. They work closely with midwives to support delivery of care across inpatient and outpatient settings.

HCA’S and MSW’s provide high level personal care to women and their babies and have a range of skill sets from providing nutrition and hydration, assessment of vital signs, phlebotomy, neonatal screening and public health advice. They are valued members of the maternity team and support midwives in delivery high standards of maternity care.

Matrons

Matrons are very senior midwifery experts. They lead and coordinate maternity services operationally. Matrons are responsible for good governance and safety and ensure high levels of midwifery care are maintained. They are responsible for ensuring continuous quality improvement and ensure robust systems and processes are in place to deliver safe effective care. They are excellent role models/ leaders and highly visible in clinical areas.

Deputy Heads of Midwifery

Deputy HoM’s are very senior midwifery experts. They lead and coordinate maternity services operationally and have strategic oversight of the service. Deputy HoM’s work closely with Local Maternity Systems (LMNS) and support the Director / Head of Midwifery in delivery of the strategic agenda’s for maternity service. Similar to matrons they are also responsible for good governance and safety and ensure high levels of midwifery care are maintained. They are responsible for ensuring continuous quality improvement and ensure robust systems and processes are in place to deliver safe effective care. They are excellent role models and leaders.

Director of Midwifery (DOM)

The director of midwifery is a very senior midwife with vast experience of midwifery and maternity services. The DoM has overall responsibility for the leadership of the midwifery teams and midwifery profession at RWT. She leads the services from a strategic perspective ensuring that all national safety recommendations, quality improvements and best practice standards are implemented and maintained throughout the service. The DoM is a member of the board of Directors at RWT.