Labour Ward Coordinator

Job responsibilities

Midwives working as a labour ward co-ordinator will be able to:

1. Antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal core proficiencies

1.1. Demonstrate advanced skills in areas such as, but not limited to: foetal surveillance; maternal care pathways; maternal and neonatal life support and assessment; management of clinical risk and escalation.

1.2. Draw upon experience and evidence-based skills to inform assessments to provide safe care.

2. Digital skills

2.1. Apply with confidence, and support others to use digital skills to ensure safe, timely and effective provision of care.

2.2. Critically examine patient records to identify risks that could impact care and support the team to undertake continual holistic risk assessments.

3. Technical skills

3.1. Use technical skills to operate, maintain and escalate faults in medical devices needed to provide safe and effective care.

3.2. Lead/support the team to identify appropriate local medical devices to support safe practice.

Midwives working as a labour ward co-ordinator will be able to:

1. Critically reflect on own leadership style and how this impacts on the safety culture and performance of the multidisciplinary team (MDT)

2. Evaluate the impact of your behaviours as a leader on the experience and wellbeing of colleagues

3. Create a culture where psychological safety and quality improvement is achieved and maintained in a well led maternity service

4. Evaluate the impact of your behaviours as a leader on service user outcomes

5. Role model and foster a culture of continuous learning in others

6. Lead the resolution of challenging conversations with compassion, integrity, and confidence.

Use evidence-based knowledge to critique the technical skills of all team members and manage any gaps that could impact safe service delivery

Create a learning culture within the birthing environment so that members of the MDT can address gaps in practice that impacts safe service delivery

Appraise and implement the principles of human factors when leading the MDT

Exercise professional judgement and clinical credibility gained from a range of experience obtained within the birthing environment

Evaluate their knowledge of policies, procedures and processes which influence decision-making and impact safe service delivery

Critically reflect on individual preparedness for the demands of the role of and your impact on others

Demonstrate knowledge of current national guidelines, key reports and objectives relating to the maternity landscape

Midwives working as a labour ward co-ordinator will be able to:

Prioritise confident, communication skills as a leader during an emergency, while maintaining a calm approach

Be approachable, trustworthy, and professional to foster effective and kind communication with the team and service users

Use emotional intelligence to recognise and manage with compassion non-verbal signs of distress in the team, yourself, and service users

Compose high quality constructive feedback and use a kind and supportive manner

Develop and maintain highly effective communication with people on complex issues

Exhibit highly effective, inclusive, and timely communication skills with all members of the MDT

Use language and resources to enable effective communication with service users

Midwives working as a labour ward co-ordinator will be able to:

1. Critically appraise and implement quality improvement processes and evaluate the outcomes

2. Initiate and maintain a culture of continuous quality improvement across maternity services, to improve outcomes and experiences for all women and babies in response to health inequalities

3. Actively participate in and promote audit and research to improve quality and safety

Midwives working as a labour ward co-ordinator will be able to:

1. Determine and evaluate available resources, to deliver safe and effective care during each shift

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Midwife
• Degree/ Diploma in Midwifery and evidence of Continued Professional Development
• Mentorship qualification
• NIPE Qualification (or willing to work towards)
• NLS Trained (or willing to work towards)

Desirable

• ALS Trained
• Evidence of Managerial Training Course

Experience

Essential

• Significant experience at Band 6 or higher
• Significant experience working in a high-risk delivery suite setting
• Knowledge and experience of risk management including experience in incident investigations
• Experience of managing employee relations issues
• Experience of guideline development and review
• Experience of participation in clinical audit

Desirable

• Experience of implementing change in service provision

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Ability to practice clinically in all areas of a fully integrated maternity service promoting excellence in clinical practice. Including evidence of the clinical skills outlined in Pillar 1 above.
• High level decision making and organisational skills
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to co-ordinate, influence and liaise within a multi-disciplinary team
• Ability to lead, manage and motivate teams effectively
• Ability to demonstrate evidence-based practice and a woman centred approach to care provision
• Ability to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines
• Computer literate, including use and management of databases
• In-depth understanding of the relevance of high-quality data and record keeping

Desirable

• Knowledge of statutory regulations governing midwifery
• Knowledge of national & local maternity policy influencing service provision
• Able to understand budget information for intrapartum area

Attitude and Aptitude

Essential

• Demonstrates a good understanding of principles of the Labour Ward Coordinator Framework
• Motivated to promote personal and professional development of self and other junior colleagues
• Willing to rotate/work in all clinical areas within maternity
• Exemplary personal standards of conduct and behaviour
• Be an effective role model, demonstrating the Trust values

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).