Maternity Led Birthing Unit Senior Midwife

The post holder will provide expert advice and guidance on the Midwifery Led Care of women within the areas providing intrapartum care and acute maternity care. The postholder will work as an autonomous clinical midwife and advise staff working in the areas providing low risk and high risk intrapartum care. The postholder will provide clinical, professional and managerial leadership and will have responsibility for the efficient running of the intrapartum care areas and Triage on a shift by shift basis. The postholder will work as part of a team of coordinators who will have responsibility for the seamless running of the maternity unit on a 24/7 basis.
As part of the team the postholder will be responsible for ensuring a high standard of clinical care is achieved by efficient and effective use of resources, liaising with other agencies, organising and ensuring supervision of practice, and teaching of staff and students. The postholder will be expected to participate in the rotational system within the service including night duty and on call., + Participate in the provision of effective individualised, women centred evidenced based midwifery care.
+ To advise on the promotion of health and ensure care incorporates the public health agenda.
+ Act as the woman's advocate and empower them to promote their own health and well being
+ To assess and manage physical, emotional and social situations which may influence the health and well-being of the mother and baby and refer if necessary.
+ To assess, plan and implement care within the sphere of practice of a midwife and to meet the physical, emotional and social needs of the mother, partner, baby and the family.
+ To liaise with multiprofessionals and agencies and take action when necessary e.g. social services/primary healthcare team.
+ To advise, guide and support midwives, women and families where there are emotional and highly distressing circumstances. To offer support to all involved after such events.
+ To ensure midwifery practice is evidence based and women centred and support other staff in adopting evidence based care.
+ Explore more efficient and effective ways of providing a high standard of women centred care and utilisation of resources.
+ To support and implement the risk management process. To work in conjunction with the risk manager to ensure policies, protocols and guidelines are used in practice. To be aware of the incident reporting criteria and work within the Risk Management Strategy.
+ see Job description, + Take overall responsibility for the management of the intrapartum care areas and Triage while on duty maintaining the smooth running of the team and prioritising care.
+ Ensure dissemination of pertinent information regarding the women in these areas to the multidisciplinary team.
+ As part of the multidisciplinary team ensure appropriate midwifery care is provided for the women in the intrapartum care areas and Triage
+ Allocate staff roles according to their level of experience and expertise to meet the individual needs of the women
+ Facilitate the role of the practice facilitator midwives to enable them to support newly qualified/newly rotated midwives
+ Provide and disseminate professional and clinical knowledge to the multidisciplinary team and provide effective communication and collaborative working within the teams.
+ Ensure a system is in place whereby all emergency equipment is checked daily and any malfunctioning equipment is reported and followed up
+ Provide ongoing leadership, support and advice to all staff.
+ Coordinate and evaluate training and facilitate the training of student midwives and other students allocated to the clinical area. Ensure effective mentorship.
+ Guide and support staff in their professional development and clinical competence.
+ Review and manage the performance of all staff by identifying their educational and support requirements. Support midwifery and maternity support staff with the completion of annual appraisal and objective setting.
+ Promote, encourage, participate and undertake in research, audit and studies related to the area of practice.
+ Support and facilitate training sessions as identified by service needs
+ To actively participate in developing and updating clinical guidelines
+ Act as an effective role model in promoting professional excellence
+ Actively promote a learning environment that encourages individuals to learn
+ To be aware of the hazards associated with using equipment and to report any failures of equipment
+ Be responsible for maintaining own personal PREPP requirements
+ Practice within the NMC rules and codes of conduct
+ Actively participate in clinical governance strategy, audit and risk management
+ Participate in the identification and introduction of best practice in maternity care
+ To be conversant with the Fire, Health and Safety Policies and other Policies of the Trust.
+ To report all accidents and complaints in accordance with agreed policies and assist in investigations of complaints and accidents as required.
+ Update own knowledge and skills in order to develop professionally and to contribute to the improvement of the service.
It is an exciting time to join the newly formed Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We run two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Our 7,500 staff provide high quality care for a growing population of around 700,000 across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas.
You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. Travel between hospital sites may be required. We have state-of-the art facilities placing us at the heart of cutting edge health care. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.
All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering their first six months in post.

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.