The award winners 2019

WINNER

Pregnancy Advice Line, Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership

To address the challenges of providing personalised care to women who have worries about their baby, three Surrey Trusts set up the Pregnancy Advice Line with the South East Coast Ambulance, to provide 24/7 support and advice to women during pregnancy and the postnatal period. Callers receive personalised midwifery care on the phone, and are signposted appropriately, while midwives also give support to operators who receive pregnancy-related 999 calls. This service takes up to 4000 calls per month, and thanks to the midwives providing advice over the phone, the ambulance service has dispatched 57 fewer vehicles in the first 3 months of the service, which could save the NHS around £60 000 per year.

SECOND PLACE

Heidi Croucher, Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Heidi's entry was supported by a number of friends and colleagues, each mentioning the difference that her work has made. As a smoking in pregnancy specialist midwife, Heidi goes above and beyond: meeting pregnant smokers, working with them and even encouraging them to try activities such as knitting to help them relax and keep busy. Since she started, smoking and stillbirth rates at the Trust are both below the national average, making Heidi a very deserving nominee.

THIRD PLACE

Noreen Dunnachie, University Hospital Crosshouse

After the number of women in Ayrshire and Arran with gestational diabetes tripled, Noreen's team aimed to improve outcomes. Each woman diagnosed received personalised education and advice, and a telephone clinic was introduced to review blood glucose levels. As a result, the number of women who managed their diabetes through diet control increased, and the weights of babies born to women with diabetes decreased.

WINNER

Anne Cobell

Anne was nominated by a number colleagues, junior staff members and women, each of whom testified to Anne's fantastic abilities as a leader. As head of a team of caseload midwives, Anne has encouraged her team's knowledge and competence, demanding a high level of excellence in order to ensure that women feel safe, confident and supported in her care, while earning her team a fantastic reputation within the wider Trust. Her enthusiasm and kindness, even in the face of challenges that the service has faced in recent years, has been recognised by colleagues and service users alike and it is therefore not surprising that Anne's team have called her ‘the best boss ever’. Such an endorsement from women and colleagues makes Anne a very worthy winner.

SECOND PLACE

Angie Velinor, University College London Hospitals Foundation Trust

Angie's dedication to world-class education and service provision is evident through the many projects that she has led. These include collaborative training with UCLH and the London Ambulance, mandatory team simulation training for the local Trust and a guarantee that all staff are recruited and trained to the same high standards. In addition, Angie has introduced a masters level preceptorship programme, to give newly qualified midwives a great start to their careers.

THIRD PLACE

Dr Marie Lewis, Powys Teaching Health Board

Marie is a consultant midwife who has led on a number of projects, from setting up a new rural midwife-led assessment unit, to developing the use of hand-held electronic records, to preventing postpartum haemorrhage. Marie's dedication to ensuring that every woman benefits from continuity of carer has taken her all over the world, from Denmark to New Zealand, to see how practices in other countries can be applied to Marie's local setting. Marie has also published her research to help UK maternity services.

WINNERS

Wendy Randall and Christine Harding, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust/Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

Wendy and Christine have been nominated for their exceptional work in training midwives to use intelligent intermittent auscultation safely. As part of their training, midwives can, for the first time, listen to the fetal heartbeat and, at the same time, have their competency assessed in a clinical setting to increase their knowledge and skills. Wendy and Christine have now trained more than 400 midwives, and thanks to their training, 85% of participants have passed the assessment with a mark of 80% or more on their first attempt. Wendy and Christine's training is so good, those who nominated them for this award called it ‘revolutionary’. This high praise from students and colleagues alike makes it easy to see why the judges felt that Wendy and Christine were very deserving winners.

SECOND PLACE

Jodie yerrell, James Paget University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Jodie is a practice education midwife who has been nominated for her leadership and support of midwives at James Paget University Hospital and beyond. After the ‘Collaborative Learning in Practice’ model was introduced to nursing students at the University of East Anglia, Jodie spotted the possibilities for midwifery. As part of this, Jodie has advised colleagues and students, set up online forums for students to discuss practice and encouraged students to present what they have learnt to Heads of Midwifery, consultants and nursing staff. Her tireless dedication is truly inspirational.

THIRD PLACE

Elizabeth Boxall, James Cook University Hospital

Elizabeth has been described as someone who ‘never stands still’ and someone who is continually inspiring her team to improve practice’. This has led her to learn about and pioneer the use of aromatherapy and reflexology in labour, and to train further in low dependency care and subcuticular perineal suturing. Her motivation and passion have been described by those who nominated her as ‘infectious’, and as a result she has seen many midwifery colleagues and students being inspired by her expertise to train in reflexology, aromatherapy, hypnobirthing and waterbirth.

WINNER

Lorraine Cooper, Hull and East yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Lorraine is the lead for HEy BABy, a project that has seen Hull Women and Children's Hospital become the first in the world to use virtual reality to give parents-to-be an idea of labour and birth. The experience forms part of a the Trust's ‘one-stop shop’ for everything from healthy eating advice to vaccinations. Nevertheless, the highlight is undoubtedly the virtual reality, which allows parents to see the care that they will receive when they arrive in hospital for the birth. The judges especially commended Lorraine on leading an initiative to include fathers-to-be, who are often forgotten when planning antenatal care. This is a fantastic use of technology and will no doubt go from strength to strength.

SECOND PLACE

Jo Frame, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust

Posting as ‘Edie’, the Trust's e-midwife service, Jo has raised awareness of public health information and the services that the Trust offers. This includes an iPad service that allows mums whose babies remain in hospital to communicate and bond. As a result, engagement with women and families has been transformed by the use of technology that is already in the hands of many women and families.

THIRD PLACE

Sarah Chitongo and yetunde Akinnuoye, Middlesex University

Clips of the simulation teaching used at Middlesex have been viewed online more than 2 million times. Sarah and yetunde lead the simulation teaching, using state of the art equipment that helps midwives practise clinical emergencies, using virtual reality and anatomical holograms to produce mother and baby simulators that are as realistic as possible. The technology in use is truly amazing, and by publishing their findings, Sarah and yetunde are becoming leaders in research into this new era of high-fidelity simulation.

WINNERS

Mummy's Star

Mummy's Star is an inspirational charity and the only organisation in the UK and Ireland dedicated to supporting women and families affected by cancer during pregnancy. The charity was started by Pete Walroth in 2013 after his wife passed away shortly after the birth of their son. Since then, the charity has grown and now provides everything from links to local services to emergency funds that allow women and families to receive help and support, to memory-making experiences for those with a diagnosis of terminal cancer through a grant system. In the event of a mother's death, the charity also continues to support those who are left behind. The charity has now supported 602 families and provided over 5000 education sessions to health professionals. To have achieved so much after the trauma of cancer is phenomenal, and it was a pleasure to present Mummy's Star with this award.

SECOND PLACE

Baby Week Leeds

Baby Week Leeds is an early years initiative that aims to unite and celebrate the range of services that look after young children and families in the local area. It aims to promote babies' growth and development with initiatives such as baby boxes and an smartphone app that gives parents inspiration of activities to do, with initiatives such as ’50 things to do before 5’. The charity has seen 50% more families in Leeds engaging with children's services as a result of its campaigns, and has inspired the nearby cities of Bradford and Hull to run Baby Weeks of their own. Congratulations to all those who contribute to Baby Week Leeds.

THIRD PLACE

Baby Lifeline

Baby Lifeline has been working since 1981 to prevent and reduce stillbirth, traumatic brain injury and neonatal death. The charity was started by Judy Ledger, who raised funds to provide an incubator for Coventry's neonatal unit after losing her third baby and since then, the charity has raised over £12 million to provide training and equipment to reduce the number of avoidable deaths or birth injuries. To raise this money after such a devastating loss is evidence of true generosity and will no doubt be an inspiration to all clinicians to double up their efforts to reduce stillbirth and traumatic injury rates even further.

WINNER

Verity Lancaster, University Hospital Lewisham/Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust

This award recognises a student who goes above and beyond, and therefore Verity is a very worthy winner. Her engagement and enthusiasm has won her widespread plaudits and she has recently led the development of a new pathway for women with a Down's syndrome diagnosis, or a child with Down's syndrome. As a result of Verity's hard work, collaboration across disciplines and hierarchies, and dedication to women and maternity services, this pathway will now be implemented across the local areas of Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley. This is all the more impressive given that this work has all been undertaken in her own time—a truly fantastic achievement.

SECOND PLACE

India Cartwright, Edge Hill University

India is a third-year student who has already won one of the university's Excellence Scholarships. India contributes to staff/student consultations, and is Vice President of the midwifery society, one of the most successful in the university. With her outstanding academic achievements and a wealth of experience already, India will have a long and successful career.

THIRD PLACE

Jade Parsons, Bangor University

Jade is a truly outstanding nominee. Having always wanted to be a midwife, she has worked hard to gain the necessary qualifications and secure a place at university, despite the challenges of a young family. She now excels in both theory and practice, while also volunteering to act as a student representative. In addition, Jade's commits to ‘paying it forward’: providing childcare for aspiring midwives to attend interviews, supporting new students and providing much needed help in the workplace as a bank healthcare assistant.

WINNER

The caesarean section team have implemented improvement in every aspect of the process, from antenatal booking to the birth, always with the aim of giving women who undergo a caesarean an experience that is similar to those who undergo a vaginal birth. To do this, the team took responsibility for referrals; ensured that women received continuity with their midwife, surgeon and anaesthetic team; and provided time for discussion and informed choice. The team also advocated for a new caesarean suite, where women and families can wait in comfort, and pioneered the use of mood lighting, aromatherapy and music to relieve tension—all to ensure that women feel that they have had a baby, not just an operation. This award therefore recognises their multidisciplinary collaboration, promotion of women's choice and sensitive care.

SECOND PLACE

Maternity Service, University Hospitals Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

In June 2014, the Trust was placed in special measures by the CQC, but thanks to the hard work of its staff, it was taken out of special measures in December 2015, and by October 2016, the Trust was rated having outstanding care—an extraordinary transformation. Maternity Services at the Trust received a special commendation and it not hard to see why: they have worked with the staff and service users to design a new state-of-the-art maternity unit, introduced the new role of Safe Active Birth midwife, and invited service users to help with the recruitment process. In addition, the team has also supported more than 50 preceptorship midwives in the past 4 years to Band 6, using a comprehensive training package. As part of the Trust's unprecedented transformation, the team has also achieved the 10 Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts criteria—one of only two services in the region to do so.

WINNER

Joanne Battensby St Helen's and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Joanne's empathy and dedication has shown her to be an outstanding midwife. As a delivery suite midwife, Joanne volunteered to help women to debrief after the birth. After helping women experiencing tokophobia, postnatal depression and anxiety, Joanne became a passionate advocate for mental health services, and the unit's lead consultant. She has worked tirelessly to improve referral pathways, educate clinicians and families, and train new mental health specialists. Mental health issues can affect anyone, but thanks to Joanne's advocacy and dogged determination, those who are affected will never be without help. Joanne is therefore a credit to the profession and deserving of the Midwife of the year award.

SECOND PLACE

Dr Sally Pezaro Coventry University

Sally is a force in the world of midwifery research, publishing on midwives' wellbeing, mentorship and hypermobile Ehlers Danlos syndrome. This research in particular has been extraordinarily well-received, having been downloaded a record-breaking 12 000 times and celebrated by midwives and women with hEDS alike. In addition, Sally also runs the Academic Midwife blog, and contributes to a variety of policy groups. Her achievements thus far are phenomenal, and there will certainly be more to come.

THIRD PLACE

Anita Hedditch Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

As a delivery suite coordinator, Anita has transformed services at her Trust with her exceptional drive to improve birth outcomes. In particular, Anita has focused on supporting women with a baby in the breech position, and her work has led to around 300 babies being turned through external cephalic version. As a result of Anita's hard work and drive, her work is now being shared internationally.

WINNER

Professor Marlene Sinclair

Professor Marlene Sinclair is Head of Research at the Maternal, Fetal and Infant Research Centre at the Institute of Nursing and Health Research, University of Ulster and is the NMC Midwifery Education Lead for Midwifery Education at Ulster University.

Marlene initially began her career at Brighton University, having decided to study Fine Art. In 1981 she decided to train as a general nurse at Royal Victoria Hospital before undertaking maternity training at Ulster University in 1984. She gained a BSc, then a master's degree in Education at Queen's University Belfast, where she also completed a PhD. In 2006, Marlene returned to Ulster University, becoming Ireland's first professor of midwifery research, and establishing the world's first research society for midwives.

Marlene's research interests include birth technology, support for parents of children with disabilities and healthy lifestyles in pregnancy. Marlene has almost 30 years of research experience, and to date, has managed more than 30 research projects, contributed to more than 250 publications and has supervised PhD students in the UK, Australia, Taiwan and South Africa.

This award was presented to Marlene after her talk at the BJM Conference, where she was congratulated by the many people who came to hear her speak.