Four midwives from Northampton General Hospital trust win national awards for outstanding contributions

Four midwives from Northampton General Hospital trust have scooped prestigious national awards for their outstanding contributions.

Two of the four midwives were honoured with the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Race Matters Award and the other two claimed Excellence in Maternity Care During a Global Pandemic awards.

Fatima Ghaouch and Samukeliso Sibanda received the first ever RCM Race Matters award for their work in supporting pregnant black, Asian and minority ethnic women during the pandemic.

As well as providing additional support to these women, they have also been working to raise awareness of racial inequalities that exist in the NHS.

This has included introducing reverse mentoring with trust directors coming into clinical areas to experience the working lives of black midwives and meet the women in their caseloads.

NGH continuity of care matron, Fatima, said: “We are delighted to have received national recognition for the work we are doing to support and champion the needs of families from black and ethnic minority backgrounds.

“This was particularly important during the pandemic because of the concerns around Covid-19’s impact on minority communities and also because people from these backgrounds can have more problems during their pregnancy.”

NGH continuity of care team leader, Samukeliso, added: “Part of our work was participating in reverse mentoring where we mentored some of our directors so they could experience what our day-to-day work involved and get insight into the issues raised.

“It has also increased our confidence that that our work is valued and of great importance.

“Receiving this national award has also further increased that recognition.”

Picking up the Excellence in Maternity Care During a Global Pandemic award, Anne Richley and Claire Dale were recognised for their work in keeping community maternity services running during the pandemic.

In just a few days Anne, Claire, and their colleagues set up alternative locations for mums-to-be to receive their midwifery support when local services had to be relocated from GP surgeries.

They set up community midwifery support services in VIP boxes and other rooms at cinch Stadium in Franklins Gardens.

Even when professional rugby returned in March 2021, the pair were undaunted. Using social media and the local Maternity Voice Partnership (MVP), they sourced premises to house several community hubs across the area. This meant that women could continue to see their midwives in a safe environment.

Anne, who was community midwifery matron at the time (she retired in September and is now a bank midwife), said: “We are delighted to have won the award and I think it is awonderful tribute recognising the relentless amount of extra hours the team worked in order to create safe spaces for the women who understandably felt vulnerable going to hospital in the midst of the pandemic.”

Community midwifery sister Claire added: “It is lovely to have received national recognition for the way our team of 57 community midwives and maternity support workers all worked together to get new community midwifery locations set up for the families we serve.”

The four midwives received their Royal College of Midwives awards at a ceremony in London on Wednesday (October 27), hosted by presenter and musician Myleene Klass.