Pre Term Birth Midwife

Job responsibilities

To have specialist knowledge and skills to support women at increased risk of preterm birth throughout the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care continuum.

Demonstrate strong clinical management and leadership skills which support the Midwifery, MDT and maternity service as a whole.

Lead and develop services working alongside a nominated preterm specialist multidisciplinary team ensuring consistency and continuity of care for women at increased risk of preterm birth.

Lead and embed the BAPM Perinatal Optimisation Pathway to help improve preterm outcomes.

To have in depth knowledge of current local, regional and national agendas in relation to reducing preterm birth, contributing positively to the ongoing research, and continuous development of preterm birth pathways in order to continue to progress the service.

To have an in depth understanding of key reports and key performance indicators (KPIs) relating to preterm birth such as implementation of Saving Babies Lives, and the Department of Healths Safer Maternity Care report. Have an awareness of how such reports should inform clinical practice.

To commit to continuing to develop and enhance their own clinical skills including completing additional training as determined by the needs of the service.

To show compassionate behaviour towards women and their families, ensuring equality and diversity differences are respected and women and their family are enabled to be partners in their own care.

To develop and maintain positive working relationships with other professionals both within our organisation and externally, ensuring robust communication pathways between Trusts and organisations such as EMBRACE for emergency in-utero and neonatal transfers.

To have a clear knowledge of the Trusts clinical governance strategy and clinical risk management conducting regular audit and evaluation of the service and participating in the investigation of incidents, accidents and complaints as required in accordance with the Trusts policies.

To promote effective communication within the Directorate through liaison with appropriate departments, staff groups and meetings.

Uphold the privacy and dignity of the patient and respect the equality of patients at all times.

Provide expert advice and act as resource for other midwives and the wider professional team.

Support clinically where required across all areas, whilst gaining any understanding of the needs of women who experience preterm birth.

Enable colleagues to develop the necessary skills to support women experiencing threatened or confirmed preterm birth, or with recognised risk factors.

Ensure that midwifery practice is in keeping with current evidence and is appropriate for each individual woman.

Identify, participate in and facilitate research and audit.

Have acquired or be prepared to extend skills relevant to preterm birth.

As a lead midwife have responsibility for service development and quality improvement within the service and work closely with members of the multidisciplinary team to develop plans that meet targets set by Government initiatives.

Write departmental and implement Trust wide/departmental policies, procedures and guidelines.

To support the Trust maternity services programmes to meet its statutory requirements and objectives in terms of Clinical Governance (CQC standards, Risk Management, clinical risk).

Fulfils the role of supervisor to the student midwives and nurses by teaching, assessing and evaluating their progress.

Participates in induction programmes for new staff to the unit.

Represent the service at local, regional and national meetings and conferences.

Be aware of own professional limitations and seek guidance if required.

To have expert knowledge of preterm pregnancy management options including the pros and cons of prophylactic vaginal progesterone or cervical cerclage procedures, services and support.

To be confident in communicating with professionals at all levels in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary care settings.

Able to have supportive, complex and sensitive multidisciplinary discussions relating to neonatal care of preterm babies including location of care and explanation of the immediate complications which can result from a baby being born pre-term.

Be responsible for the data collection, audit and evaluation of the service, ensuring compliance with internal and external reporting mechanisms such as governance meetings and CQC reporting.

Other

Essential

• Required to participate in on call rota for specialist midwives to support the acute service in times of high acuity.
• Able to travel between hospital sites as required

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Midwife and eligible to practice.
• BSC in Midwifery.
• Evidence of further study and development of professional and academic skills

Desirable

• Leadership/ management qualification.
• Working towards masters level in an appropriate subject. Ultrasound and clinical skills management of pregnancies at high risk of preterm birth.
• Recognised teaching qualification

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Ability to deal with distressing circumstances.
• Able to demonstrate motivation to maintain professional development and motivate others.
• Able to demonstrate flexible innovative approaches to practice which are tailored to meet the individual needs of the clients.
• Able to demonstrate a positive approach to change.
• Able to demonstrate a clear understanding of change management including monitoring progress against targets. Monitoring progress against agreed personal targets.
• Excellent organisational skills, able to prioritise and work effectively under pressure.
• Always puts patients first and committed to improving patient care.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Practical problem-solving ability.
• Persuasive and influencing skills.
• Able to grasp concepts and understand their wider significance.
• Able to make judgements about highly complex and sometimes conflicting facts or situations
• Positive and enthusiastic.
• Can act on own initiative.
• Flexible approach to work.
• Ability to adapt behaviour to changing circumstances.
• Evidence of a flexible and innovative approach to service delivery and development.
• Clinical skills when undertaking clinical work

Knowledge and Awareness

Essential

• Good understanding of the current and emerging NHS maternity transformation programme and key national Midwifery drivers.
• Understanding of regulatory processes around Midwifery
• Understanding of clinical governance and the importance of the identification, management and monitoring of risk processes
• Awareness of own limitations and when to seek advice, guidance and support

Desirable

• In depth specialist knowledge of preterm birth.

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Leadership & management skills.
• Conflict management skills.
• Competent in IT & able to produce detailed and accurate reports.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Able to work both independently and autonomously as well as part of a wider multidisciplinary team.
• Teaching/assessing skills.
• Ability to produce high quality reports for use internally and externally to the Trust.
• Ability to develop policies and guidelines.
• Presentation skills.
• Ability to motivate self and others.
• Flexible to the needs of a changing service.
• Ability to independently manage own workload to meet the needs of the service.
• Evidence of leading and facilitating change
• Excellent full range of communication skills with a range of people and organisations
• Presentation skills.
• Ability to motivate self and others.
• Flexible to the needs of a changing service.
• Ability to independently manage own workload to meet the needs of the service.
• Evidence of leading and facilitating change

Desirable

• To have participated in audit/research and development programmes

Experience

Essential

• Relevant post registration experience at Band 6 or above.
• Ability to assess, plan, implement and evaluate Midwifery care for women and their babies.
• Manage own caseload including ability to prioritise and meet deadlines.
• Experience of teaching/ presenting
• Sound knowledge of recent Government/Professional documents with awareness of implications to service provision relating to preterm birth.
• Ability to work within acute and primary health care settings. Experience of acting as a mentor to both qualified midwives and students encouraging evidence-based practice.
• Influencing change in practice

Desirable

• To have developed/worked alongside local and national networks.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).