The Maternal Medicine Services Lead Midwife will support and coordinate the care pathways of pregnant women and birthing people with complex pregnancies. This includes women with complex pre-existing medical conditions, multiple pregnancies or on a preterm birth pathway.
The post holder will work with the Lead Consultant for Maternal Medicine and appropriate medical teams to form a multidisciplinary team approach for the management of pregnant women with pre-existing medical disorders and pregnancy-specific medical disorders. This includes neurological, heart, endocrine/glandular, joint and connective tissue, bowel, kidney/renal, lung/respiratory, liver and metabolic disorders, haematological/blood disorders including sickle cell disease, thrombosis and coagulation problems, high blood pressure and cancer .
The post holder will work closely with the Fetal Medicine Consultants to co-ordinate the highest standard of clinical care for women / birthing people with multiple pregnancies and the Pre-Term Birth Consultant to ensure effective care of women at risk of preterm within the Maternity Service. They will be responsible for the ongoing development and oversight of specialist support midwives for multiple pregnancy and preterm birth as well as identifying ongoing gaps in service provision and developing strategies to address areas of deficit.
They will provide expert midwifery leadership, support and advice to women attending outpatient clinics, supporting the Lead Consultants within the maternal medicine services. They will be a point of contact for other specialist services to embed pathways of care and support in developing guidance and standards related to maternal medicine, multiple pregnancies or preterm birth.
Royal Surrey is a compassionate and collaborative acute and community Trust. Recognising that our 5,000 colleagues are our greatest strength, we offer a comprehensive health and wellbeing programme alongside a strong commitment to developing your career. Our diverse and welcoming Royal Surrey family ensures you feel valued from your initial interview and throughout your time with us.
We are clinically led and provide joined-up care by bridging hospital and community services, alongside delivering regional specialist cancer care. Our main acute hospital site is in Guildford, with community sites at Milford, Haslemere and Cranleigh, and services delivered in patients’ homes across Guildford and Waverley.
We work in partnership with Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust through a collaborative Group Model, supporting joined-up services, workforce flexibility and development opportunities.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated us as Outstanding. We are proud of our achievements and continue to invest in our people and infrastructure.
To learn more about life at Royal Surrey, please watch our short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R96pMboIYdo
Adverts may close early, so you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
1. With the Maternal Medicine Consultant be the lead specialist professional and clinical support for the delivery of evidenced based woman centred midwifery care for women with complex pre-existing medical conditions in pregnancy.
2. Be accountable for the assessment, planning, prescribing, implementation and evaluation of care responding to the individual needs of women and their families.
3. Promote effective teamwork and collaborative relationships within maternal medicine, the multidisciplinary team and across health care settings to optimise their involvement with complex care pathways and improve health outcomes for pregnant women with co – existing medical conditions
4. Be responsible for the development and clinical expertise of specialist support midwives for multiple pregnancy and preterm birth. Maintain oversight of women with multiple pregnancies and those women on a pre-term pathway in the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal period. Liaise with multi-disciplinary team to ensure women are allocated to the appropriate care pathway.
5. Lead and develop services to ensure continuity and consistency of care, particularly when liaising with colleagues working in other areas eg, neonatal, mental health services, safeguarding and social care and health visitor services
6. Ensure continuity of care is shared and maintained between different hospitals and health care professionals, especially when care may be transferred out of the unit or immediate area
7. Understand the needs of grieving and bereaved parents where one or more fetus or baby may not survive. Have the knowledge and skills to support women through the pregnancy, working with bereavement midwives and referring for counselling and other local and national support services as required
8. Provide education for women tailored to their specific needs, optimising self-care skills. Support the development of parent education specific to multiple pregnancies.
9. Continually organise, plan and develop the maternal medicine services within maternity, in cooperation with the multi-disciplinary team
10. Ensure monitoring and audits of quality and effectiveness of care completed and actioned for women with preterm risk factors/multiple pregnancies/women with complex pregnancies within the maternity services. Benchmarking services against Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, CNST Maternity Incentive, MBRACE, CQC and any relevant regional or national reports.
11. Review current evidence and update polices and guidelines in line with National standards
12. Act as a knowledgeable resource for other healthcare professionals, providing education and advice to raise understanding and awareness about preterm, multiple and complex pregnancies.
13. Encourage and support others to develop the skills and confidence necessary to care for women with preterm birth risks and multiple pregnancies within the maternity service.
14. Be skilled in having challenging conversations and delivering difficult news
15. Empower and educate women and families to make informed decisions, to be aware of their choices and care options
16. Ensure women and their partners understand the benefits, risks and choices available for safe effective care and that women can articulate their decisions including possible outcomes
17. Be able to demonstrate expert knowledge of treatment regimens during pregnancy and immediate postnatal
18. Maintain own professional practice and that of others in line with Nursing and Midwifery Council guidance and specifically in the area of Maternal medicine
19. To have made an effective contribution to reaching the Trust’s vision, strategic objectives and key work programmes.
20. Participate in the development of midwifery practice and research in specialist area in line with the Trust strategy and in collaboration with other team members.
21. Maintain and develop awareness for the Department of Health policies and guidelines and its impact on local service planning. Monitor and maintain standards of care, develop practice and formulate new evidence based policies/protocols where required. This may include writing guidelines and information for patients
22. Providing direct client care including health education. Prioritise health promotion needs for women and their families and formulate a plan of care to meet their needs.
23. To practice in any area of the service as necessary according to the needs of the service.
24. To develop an effective learning environment for all learners and identify training needs. Liaise with senior midwives with regards to training requirements and participate in the in-service training programmes.
25. Provision of preceptorship for students and newly qualified midwives with particular reference to development of knowledge of maternal medicine.
26. To work throughout the department in order to maintain skills in all aspects of the role of midwife.
27. Take responsibility for developing and maintaining good leadership skills and to act in a manner that promotes midwifery in a positive light.
28. Maintain continuous professional development/clinical competence and acquiring new skills as required and as directed by the NMC
29. Life Long Learning – involvement in research and audit to evaluate clinical practice and guidelines.
30. Delivery and promotion of high standards of midwifery care. Supervise and offer support to develop midwifery skills for all staff members in specialist area.
31. Develop and maintain good working relationships both internal and external to the organisation.
32. Support leadership of the team within Antenatal clinic when the Senior Sister is not within the department
33. Assist the Maternity Matron in achieving the strategic objectives for the maternity service
34. Ensure the provision of a quality service by monitoring the standards of all services: Midwifery, domestic, catering, pharmacy, laundry, equipment maintenance etc.
35. Ensure accurate collection of specialist data as specified by the directorate, implementing any recommendations on the basis of learning from incidents and audit.
36. Ensure adherence to the highest possible standards of professional behaviour at all times.
37. Personally, update and keep abreast of professional and organisational developments within the NHS and across the public sector and related organisations/sectors
38. Keep abreast of legislative changes and policy development ensuring action is taken where appropriate.
39. Participate in appropriate professional/developmental groups across the region and nationally in order to develop a community approach and shared good practice.
40. The post holder must at all times carry out duties and responsibilities with due regard to equal opportunities policies and procedures.
41. The post holder must at all times respect patient confidentiality and, in particular, the confidentiality of electronically stored personal data in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.
42. The post holder is expected to take responsibility for self-development on a continuous basis, undertaking on-the-job and other training as required.
43. The post holder must be aware of individual responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act and identify and report, as necessary, any untoward accident, incident or potentially hazardous environment.
44. This job description is intended as an outline of the general areas of activity and will be amended in the light of the changing needs of the organisation
