Job summary
"The role of the labour ward coordinator is multi-faceted and central to ensuring the safety of pregnant and labouring women and babies. It encompasses the role of midwifery clinical expert to inform and challenge practice and to escalate clinical concerns whilst prioritising and managing the complex demands of contemporary midwifery and maternity care in the high risk clinical setting of the labour ward" Ockenden 2022
Labour ward coordinators must be the first point of referral and be proactive in role modelling the professional behaviours and personal values that are consistent with positive team working and providing timely support for midwives when asked or when abnormality in labour present
Main duties of the job
- Provide oversight and management of the maternity unit on a shift by shift basis - 24/7 cover
- Responsibility for allocation of staff and workload maintaining safety throughout the unit at all times
- Escalation to senior midwifery and Consultant support as required
- Responsibility for ensuring twice daily multi-disciplinary Consultant ward rounds take place
- Be the conduit to ensuring effective communication between the MDT team to prevent delays to appropriate clinical decision making
- Lead twice daily safety huddles - ensure effective communication between different acute and outpatient areas to prevent silo working and ensure safety in all areas
- Day to day management of staffing including management of sickness/absence and appropriate use of bank staff
- Support newly qualified midwives & students in clinical skills
- Supernumerary role to provide a helicopter view of the maternity unit - escalate appropriately if acuity prevents retaining supernumerary status
- There must be a clear line of communication from the on-call obstetric team and coordinating midwife to the on-call Consultant at all times
- Be a senior presence available to assist midwives and facilitate escalation to the obstetric team
- Work as a proactive decision-maker to support in clinical area ensuring contemporaneous and clear documentation
- Drive forward improvements in safety and quality in line with CQC standards and national maternity safety requirements
- Line management, peer support
About us
Based in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead.
Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.
We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.
Our values should be the 'golden thread' which runs through everything we do - they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronymICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement.
We have a number of staff networks including the BAME network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Women's Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our armed forces network is one of our emerging networks.
The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our 'Balance' programme balancegateshead.com to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide professional support and guidance, ensuring all staff both midwifery and medical are supported in their practise, including pre-registration and doctors in training
- Take overall responsibility for ensuring effective communication between all service providers within the speciality
- Participate in ongoing work into improving the gestational diabetes service including review and presenting audit findings and monitoring action plans to completion.
- Supporting clinical staff in their management/decision making
- Develop midwives competence in supporting all women during their pregnancy and labour in compliance with NICE guidance
- Provide and establish good positive working relationships with the Head of Midwifery, Community Lead, Team Managers, Ward Managers and their teams, and Practice Development Lead
- Works as an effective and responsible team member and enables others to do so. Will support and help junior staff to organise their work
- Contribute to the division and organisational strategies for raising the profile of patient and public involvement and embedding this within own sphere of practice. Actively encourage feedback from service users and educate staff around the advantages of obtaining this
- Actively participate in local, national and international networking to maintain and develop expert level of knowledge in the speciality. Ensuring presence at the appropriate regional meetings and engagement with quality improvement projects.
- Ensure that the importance and implications of education, research, and ideas are raised in appropriate forums.
- Influence and develop policy making and clinical guidelines internally and externally, necessary to support diabetes in pregnancy.
- Lead and participate in audit and research and benchmarking activities to ensure effective safe and evidence based practice.
- Promote and encourage midwifery practice research in all relevant clinical areas supporting the local audit strategy.
- Evaluate clinical practice within the area by monitoring standards of care and ensuring that midwifery practice is audited and research-based in order to provide a continually improving service and supports the clinical governance framework.
- Analyse and make clinical decisions based on clinical information through detailed risk assessment and evaluation
- Ensure that family centred care is planned and delivered to meet the assessment of individual patient need
- Make clinical judgements involving a range of facts and situations which require analysis or comparison of a range of options
- Establishes an effective system of annual appraisal and personal development plans for all staff within the team in order that the development needs of both the individual and the team are identified and met
- Lead and facilitates an integrated approach to quality issues so that every member of the team contributes and is aware of their responsibility in this area.
- Leads the planning of women centred care and all service requirements
- Analyse situations and plan short and longer term adjustments to own workload and that of others to meet priorities and demands on staffing.
- Lead the planning and implementation of audits to meet the needs of reviews, service development and improvements in specialist area of practice
- Identifies and plans the provision of education and training for all staff
- Lead, develop, deliver and evaluate the service to meet the needs of mothers and their families
- Oversee the provision of individualised care by personal participation in order to maintain skills as an expert practitioner and provide an effective role model for the midwifery team and others in the multidisciplinary team
- Analyses and evaluates personal clinical performance in a reflective manner to ensure continue personal and professional development and the maintenance of an up-to-date knowledge basis
- Facilitates an environment where health promotion and informed choice is encouraged and developed to its maximum potential within the available resources
- Evaluate clinical practice within the area by monitoring standards of care and ensuring that midwifery practice is audited and research based in order to provide a continually improving service and supports the clinical governance framework
- Demonstrate expert knowledge and skills through midwifery practice of the highest standard
- Complete and maintain the required specialist training clinical skills, interpersonal skills and competence to provide high standards of care
- Act as a mothers advocate in all matters relating to care, treatment and welfare acknowledging and incorporating cultural preferences, health beliefs and behaviours
- Respond to enquiries from relatives, carers, deal with concerns, formal complaints, including PALS concerns and actively problem solve to improve the patients experience
- Comply with NMC Professional Registration, practice in line with current NMC Code and keep up to date with advanced midwifery practices
- Ensure safe prescribing and administration of drugs in accordance with current NMC guidelines and Trust Policies
- Ensure accurate clinical records are kept in line with current NMC guidelines on records and record keeping and Trust Policies
- Promote the philosophy of women centred care and establish and maintain a supportive relationship with the woman and their family at all times.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide professional support and guidance, ensuring all staff both midwifery and medical are supported in their practise, including pre-registration and doctors in training
- Take overall responsibility for ensuring effective communication between all service providers within the speciality
- Participate in ongoing work into improving the gestational diabetes service including review and presenting audit findings and monitoring action plans to completion.
- Supporting clinical staff in their management/decision making
- Develop midwives competence in supporting all women during their pregnancy and labour in compliance with NICE guidance
- Provide and establish good positive working relationships with the Head of Midwifery, Community Lead, Team Managers, Ward Managers and their teams, and Practice Development Lead
- Works as an effective and responsible team member and enables others to do so. Will support and help junior staff to organise their work
- Contribute to the division and organisational strategies for raising the profile of patient and public involvement and embedding this within own sphere of practice. Actively encourage feedback from service users and educate staff around the advantages of obtaining this
- Actively participate in local, national and international networking to maintain and develop expert level of knowledge in the speciality. Ensuring presence at the appropriate regional meetings and engagement with quality improvement projects.
- Ensure that the importance and implications of education, research, and ideas are raised in appropriate forums.
- Influence and develop policy making and clinical guidelines internally and externally, necessary to support diabetes in pregnancy.
- Lead and participate in audit and research and benchmarking activities to ensure effective safe and evidence based practice.
- Promote and encourage midwifery practice research in all relevant clinical areas supporting the local audit strategy.
- Evaluate clinical practice within the area by monitoring standards of care and ensuring that midwifery practice is audited and research-based in order to provide a continually improving service and supports the clinical governance framework.
- Analyse and make clinical decisions based on clinical information through detailed risk assessment and evaluation
- Ensure that family centred care is planned and delivered to meet the assessment of individual patient need
- Make clinical judgements involving a range of facts and situations which require analysis or comparison of a range of options
- Establishes an effective system of annual appraisal and personal development plans for all staff within the team in order that the development needs of both the individual and the team are identified and met
- Lead and facilitates an integrated approach to quality issues so that every member of the team contributes and is aware of their responsibility in this area.
- Leads the planning of women centred care and all service requirements
- Analyse situations and plan short and longer term adjustments to own workload and that of others to meet priorities and demands on staffing.
- Lead the planning and implementation of audits to meet the needs of reviews, service development and improvements in specialist area of practice
- Identifies and plans the provision of education and training for all staff
- Lead, develop, deliver and evaluate the service to meet the needs of mothers and their families
- Oversee the provision of individualised care by personal participation in order to maintain skills as an expert practitioner and provide an effective role model for the midwifery team and others in the multidisciplinary team
- Analyses and evaluates personal clinical performance in a reflective manner to ensure continue personal and professional development and the maintenance of an up-to-date knowledge basis
- Facilitates an environment where health promotion and informed choice is encouraged and developed to its maximum potential within the available resources
- Evaluate clinical practice within the area by monitoring standards of care and ensuring that midwifery practice is audited and research based in order to provide a continually improving service and supports the clinical governance framework
- Demonstrate expert knowledge and skills through midwifery practice of the highest standard
- Complete and maintain the required specialist training clinical skills, interpersonal skills and competence to provide high standards of care
- Act as a mothers advocate in all matters relating to care, treatment and welfare acknowledging and incorporating cultural preferences, health beliefs and behaviours
- Respond to enquiries from relatives, carers, deal with concerns, formal complaints, including PALS concerns and actively problem solve to improve the patients experience
- Comply with NMC Professional Registration, practice in line with current NMC Code and keep up to date with advanced midwifery practices
- Ensure safe prescribing and administration of drugs in accordance with current NMC guidelines and Trust Policies
- Ensure accurate clinical records are kept in line with current NMC guidelines on records and record keeping and Trust Policies
- Promote the philosophy of women centred care and establish and maintain a supportive relationship with the woman and their family at all times.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree or Diploma in Midwifery
registration
Essential
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree or Diploma in Midwifery
registration
Essential
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
