Carla Jones-Charles, Director of Midwifery, Gynaecology and Sexual Health

I’d like to wish a Happy ‘International Day of the Midwife’ to all Midwives here at Walsall Healthcare.

Today we reflect on this wonderful profession and the milestone moments Midwives are a part of. A hardworking, dedicated and versatile staff group, Midwives use their expert skills and knowledge to support women and babies throughout pregnancy, birth and beyond. No doubt they’ve made a big difference to local families and I’m proud to recognise the incredible work they do to guarantee safe and healthy maternal and delivery outcomes.

On this special day, I’d ask all our Midwives to please take a moment and reflect on what you’ve achieved these past 12 months. I have been witness to innovative and creative ways of working and seen a number of successes already this year including:

• Staff embedding our SafeToday campaign which recognises measures put in place to reduce risks and ensure quality care
• The fantastic reception of health and wellbeing days held for Maternity staff, by Maternity staff
• A new non-invasive way to test jaundice in babies
• The launch of PERIPrem (Perinatal Excellence to Reduce Injury in Premature Birth) in maternity and neonates
• Our Skin-to-Skin campaign
• Welcomed a new Retention Midwife, a full time Professional Midwifery Associate, our internationally recruited Midwives who have been a great addition and supported three apprenticeship Student Midwives

What’s great is not only seeing the department expand, but being able to hear that our new additions have found Walsall Healthcare a supportive and friendly place to work.

As we move forward, we will be guided by the three year delivery plan from NHS England which brings together maternity reviews across England and the NHS Long Term Plan into one document. The plan has four overall themes which our activity will be aligned to:

1. Listening to, and working with, women and families with compassion.
2. Growing, retaining, and supporting our workforce with the resources and teams they need to excel.
3. Developing and sustaining a culture of safety, learning, and support.
4. Standards and structures that underpin safer, more personalised, and more equitable care.

I look forward to the future, and I continue to be blown away by the amazing people I work alongside every day. Thank you #RealMidwivesofWalsall.