The Consultant Midwife post will be identified by four principal functions: An expert practice function A professional leadership and consultancy function An education, training and development function. A practice and service development, research and evaluation function The above must be delivered with recognition that a percentage of this job has a clinical component. The Consultant Midwife will: Lead on initiatives and develop strategies to promote and facilitate choice across the maternity care continuum to improve the quality of clinical care. Provide multidisciplinary clinical staff with the support to effectively deliver the maternity strategy through this care continuum. Develop networks and links with provider services to ensure maintenance of the continuum for the person who births. Communication Manage and respond to complaints and adverse incidents. Provide expert support in review of serious cases and ensure action plans are adhered to in liaison with the governance team. Provide expert opinion for external organisations regarding Midwifery Practice. Interpret and analyse complex clinical and non-clinical facts, to regularly provide expert advice and second opinion to health care professionals, including when views may differ or conflict. Be responsible for the maintenance of accurate written record Ensure that appropriate, consistent and realistic information is provided to people who birth and their families. Establish and maintain effective communication with people, relatives and staff to contribute to the active resolution of potentially complex situations, conflicts and issues. Service Delivery and Improvement Participate in investigations into patient safety incidents under PSIRF framework, including after action review (AAR), MDT review etc., developing SMART action plans, ensuring that this leads to change in practice. Represent the Trust at local and national forums promoting achievements in care. Utilise advanced clinical reasoning skills and evidence-based knowledge in the promotion of choice and to be clinically competent to utilise expert skills and knowledge in a variety of clinical settings. Develop, establish and implement guidelines and midwife led initiatives Make independent clinical decisions and initiate investigations, care/treatment and technological intervention. Work in close partnership with appropriate Clinical Leads and Service Managers to ensure all local, corporate and national initiatives and targets are met. Where appropriate, support the Clinical Directorate as agreed with the Director of Midwifery and Lead for Neonatal Nursing. To ensure appropriate public and user involvement in assessing service quality and improvements. Create, develop and implement guidelines and protocols of care in partnership with colleagues and local/national /international agencies. Contribute to and influence the national policy agenda. Initiate and respond to user feedback by ongoing evaluation and identification of emerging trends within the provision of services, leading development and redesign on a local, national and international level. Facilitate the integration of research into best practice. Inform and influence local management teams to ensure that the service responds to relevant national initiatives (e.g. NICE, NSF). Be a member of the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership, participating in scheduled meetings. Contribute to business planning process in service, initiating bids for resources where appropriate People Management and Development On behalf of the Director of Midwifery and Lead for Neonatal Nursing and the Deputy Director of Midwifery, conduct assessment and action planning for alignment with the maternity strategy and transformation work streams and the LMNS. Have a key role in clinical teaching and staff development of peers, other health professionals within the clinical area, across the trust and outside the organisation. Develop formal links through partnerships with local universities and relevant professional bodies. Participate in workforce planning to meet service development and policy change. Be a visible leader who is accessible to women, their partners and families, visitors and staff. Participate in the Midwifery Management on call rota The post holder is accountable for their own practice and should take every reasonable opportunity to sustain and improve their knowledge and professional competence. Patient Care Delivery Act as an expert practitioner demonstrating advanced knowledge and skill beyond that associated with traditional midwifery roles, including the integration of research evidence into practice by expert clinical reasoning and decision-making. As an acknowledged expert in choice during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period, the consultant midwife will be the lead clinician responsible for the care and management of defined group/groups of women requiring specific support in collaboration with other clinicians Learning and Development Initiate new programmes of education and training, to facilitate changes in practice. Work with clinical leads to establish the learning needs of staff groups. Provide learning opportunities for midwives and other health care professionals via mentorship and supervision. This includes providing inter-professional support for staff of all disciplines. In collaboration with academic institutes and education consortia, contribute to the developments in the curricula. Keep up to date with current research and evidence-based practice by attending relevant meetings, courses and seminars. Responsible for sharing knowledge with other professionals and team to influence better care and outcomes Undertake training as necessary in line with the development of the post and as agreed with the line manager as part of the personal development process. Achieve and demonstrate agreed standards of personal and professional development within agreed timescales. Participate in the Trusts appraisal process to discuss how your role will help deliver the best possible care to our patients and help to deliver any changes in service. Audit and Research In partnership with the Consultants and other colleagues be responsible for the development and implementation of clinical guidelines, policies and procedures pertaining to midwifery practice and maternity care. Implement recommendations from Government and professional bodies in relation to professional care Be responsible for developing own skills and knowledge and contribute to the development of others In line with the Trusts commitment to Clinical Governance, develop, lead and implement standards for clinical audit and evaluate clinical effectiveness. Provide education and research nationally and internationally by lecturing and through journal publications. Inform and contribute to the Trusts Research and Development strategy and lead in the development and preparation of relevant research proposals to attract both internal and external grants. Initiate midwifery R&D programmes that have an impact on Trust R&D objectives. Analyse, appraise and act upon contemporary research evidence. Monitor the level and standard of work undertaken by managed staff (as allocated) and to guide, coach and advise them as appropriate. Providing or signposting suitable development opportunities and evaluating development actions in accordance with the Trusts appraisal and training procedures.