Job overview
You will join a committed and experienced team of midwives who work closely with the wider multi-disciplinary team. Within this Trust we deliver maternity care to 6000 women.
Within the Postnatal Ward, we have a variety of staff that you will work closely with including; maternity support workers, nursery nurses and the infant feeding team to provide women with the best standard of care. The Postnatal Ward is comprised of 26 single, en-suite rooms across 4 bays. One of the four bays is available specifically for women who have had babies that fall within our Transitional Care criteria. As a Postnatal Core Team Midwife, you will be asked to work on the Transitional Care bay and assist with the daily requirements that these mothers and babies need.
On the Postnatal Ward we are also proud to provide Kangaroo Care as well as Self-Administration of Medications for women who have had an elective caesarean section.
Main duties of the job
The key attributes of a Postnatal Core Team midwife will include:
1. A passion for infant feeding
2. An understanding of the importance of trying to keep mothers and babies together
3. An understanding of the additional care requirements a mother and/or baby may need e.g. NG tube feeding, phototherapy, Monofer/blood transfusions, NIPE etc.
4. Ability to facilitate an elective caesarean section list
5. Confidence with escalation policies
6. Able to work within a large multidisciplinary team with good communication and teamworking skills.
7. Ability to help Delivery Suite staff in times of high acuity
Within the Postnatal Ward we have a number of exciting projects in practice with many more commencing this year. Therefore, within your role, there will be an expectation that you will help to facilitate these projects into practice and continuously look at new ways to improve patient care and staff satisfaction.
You will initially be rotated across all areas within the acute unit in order to ensure that you are confident working in these wards and understand how each ward runs, prior to then commencing your core team post on the Postnatal Ward.
We also operate an on-call system for both community and hospital midwifery which you will be willing to participate in.
Please click on the below link for more information about the opportunities that we have and to meet some of our team
Working for our organisation
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust ranks among the top 10 NHS Trusts nationwide and was named the second-best Trust to work for in the South East in the 2023 NHS Staff Survey.
We are a large acute hospital trust in south-east England, providing general hospital services and specialist care to around 600,000 residents in West Kent and East Sussex. With a dedicated and diverse team of over 8,000 staff we are proud to offer specialised cancer services to over two million people through the Kent Oncology Centre.
Fordcombe Hospital, near Tunbridge Wells, became part of the Trust in October 2024. Specialising in planned care, it offers two operating theatres, 28 inpatient and day-care beds, diagnostic services (X-ray, MRI, CT, and endoscopy), and consultation/treatment rooms.
Looking for flexible working?
We are a flexible working-friendly organisation. Whether it’s adjusting your hours or exploring other flexible arrangements, we want to work with you to find the best solution for you, our patients, and the Trust. Talk to us about how we can accommodate your working needs.
Joining us includes a comprehensive benefits package:
8. At least 27 days of annual leave plus public/bank holidays (pro-rata for part-time staff).
9. Membership in the NHS Pension Scheme, with a 20.6% employer contribution and life assurance benefits
10. Blue Light card eligibility
11. And more, additional benefits can be found in the benefits documents below
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We’ve provided all the details you need about this role in the job description and person specification. Please take a moment to review the criteria in the person specification and share specific examples in your application that demonstrate how you meet these requirements. Please also check your application for errors/omissions prior to submission.
Please note that appointment to this post will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check at Enhanced Level. (Enhanced level now includes regulated checks against vulnerable adults and children)
All successful applicants will be required to complete our corporate trust induction once a start date had been agreed.
Following your corporate induction you will be expected to attend the Trust’s 2-week Induction Programme for RNs, NAs, RMs, ODPs and Paramedics. The programme is full-time (please email if this is problematic) and will involve travel to both Trust sites. The programme includes supernumerary shifts in the clinical area, classroom-based sessions and e-learning.
Interview Date: To be confirmed
Please note that this role may often attract a high level of applications. Please note this role may close earlier than the original closing date so please ensure you submit your application as soon as possible.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
12. RM and eligible to practice.
13. Evidence of further study and development of professional and academic skills.
Desirable criteria
14. To have obtained a qualification for undertaking NIPEs
Experience/Knowledge
Essential criteria
15. Sound knowledge of recent Government/Professional documents with awareness of implications to service provision.
16. Able to demonstrate motivation to maintain professional development.
17. Sound knowledge of infant feeding support and guidance
Desirable criteria
18. Previous community and hospital experience.
19. Ability to use flexible innovative approaches to practice individualised care
20. Experience within an obstetric theatre and/or intrapartum care
Skills
Essential criteria
21. Excellent interpersonal skills.
22. A positive approach to change.
23. Act as mentor to both qualified midwives and students encouraging evidence based practice.
24. Ability to exercise professional accountability and autonomy.
25. Ability to act effectively within a multidisciplinary team. Ensuring collaboration across professional boundaries.
26. Able to recognise own limitations in order to seek advice appropriately.
27. Computer literate.
Desirable criteria
28. Be able to prioritise one’s workload.
29. A working knowledge of quality assurance.