Top midwifery award for The Whittington
The Royal College of Midwifery, or RCM, has
awarded the Whittington Hospital NHS Trust
the Johnson’s Baby Award for Excellence in
Midwifery Management or Leadership.
Lorna Waite and Keely Franklin, teenage pregnancy midwives, and Rachel Ambler, consultant midwife in public health, accomplished the winning entry for their maternity service for pregnant teenagers and young parents. They received the award at the RCM sixth annual awards ceremony in London on Thursday 17 January 2008. Despite strained services for teenage mothers in many parts of the country, the Whittington, with no extra funding, launched the Teenage Pregnancy Midwifery Service, offering continuous antenatal and postnatal care to women under the age of 18.
The service includes a round the clock telephone advice and support line, and has provided young mothers with advice for suitable housing and ‘stepping up’ programmes. Monthly postnatal and antenatal drop-ins are available, and talks have even been cofacilitated by previous clients in a peereducated scheme to increase the esteem and confidence of young mothers to be.
Dame Karlene Davis, General Secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “This is an enormously valuable service that will really make an impact by helping and educating young pregnant women. All the judges were very impressed with the enthusiasm and quality of the service, which should serve as a model for other areas to emulate.”
Chief executive, David Sloman, said: “I am delighted by the success of our teenage pregnancy midwifery team and the services they continue to provide for our community. Their hard work, innovation and initiative are a credit both to the unit and the communities that we serve. I would like to say a massive thank you to our teenage pregnancy midwifery team for their continual work in this field, and thank the Royal College of Midwives for recognising this also.”
Pictured left to right Nicola Ball from award sponsor Johnson’s Baby, Lorna and Rachel in centre with Keely Franklin and Logan Van Lessen flanking them on either side, Ann Keen, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Health Services), and far right is Dame Karlene Davis, General Secretary of the Royal College of Midwives.
Last updated28 Jan 2008