The post holder will be responsible for the co-ordination of all NHS national antenatal and newborn screening programmes within Yeovil District Hospital, ensuring the trust is compliant with recommendations and national programme standards.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will provide support and practical advice to women and staff experiencing pregnancy loss and the death of a baby/mother. The post holder will act as a positive role model and provide sound professional knowledge, leadership and training to all members of the multi-disciplinary team within the maternity services.
The successful candidate will become a member of the multidisciplinary team supporting the day-to-day provision of maternity care services. Main duties will involve: counselling women/birthing people and their partners in pre and post-test decision making in screening and bereavement care, undertake screening procedures, analyse screening results, refer women to specialist services when required, provide practical care to families experiencing pregnancy and baby loss and maternal death, as well as supporting clients and staff in the delivery of the antenatal and newborn screening programmes and the national bereavement care pathway.
He/she will be responsible for the development and implementation of policies, guidelines and care pathways, and will also be responsible for the audit, performance management and quality assurance of these service programmes. Education and training will be a key aspect of the role to ensure all staff are both competent and confident in the delivery of care for all maternity screening programmes. Specialist knowledge and experience in the field of antenatal and newborn screening in maternity services, and skills to lead a team.
About us
At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:
* Flexible working options to help you balance work and life
* NHS pension scheme for long-term financial security
* Generous annual leave allowance to recharge and relax
* A strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potential
Additionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.
We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.
Job responsibilities
The post holder is required to:
1. Be aware of their role in the departmental and organisational structure.
2. Prioritise own time and workload to ensure priorities are met and quality is not compromised.
3. Participate in the training, supervision and mentorship of junior colleagues and student midwives.
4. Within the multi-professional team, lead co-ordination of implementation and development of antenatal and newborn screening programmes consistent with new standards, guidance and research.
5. Taking into account national standards, the needs of the service and the training needs of the individual practitioners, facilitates a robust programme of education and training with regard to antenatal and newborn screening across the multidisciplinary team.
6. Maintain and support the infection control strategy of the trust and therefore aid in achieving the Health Care Commission standards in relation to the reduction of Health Care Acquired Infection.
7. Be experts in the provision and facilitation of antenatal and newborn screening.
8. Provide and facilitate the care of women/birthing people with complex needs in partnership with the multidisciplinary team.
9. Plan and implement individualised care whilst advocating for women/birthing people where necessary.
10. Recognise, risk assess and report any deviation from the normal involving appropriate staff/teams.
11. Take appropriate action in emergency situations and decide on the best course of action/treatment according to local policy.
12. To monitor, audit and maintain quality assurance standards within the department.
13. To evaluate the effectiveness of screening programmes at local level, reporting to the trust board, QA and programme board.
14. Co-ordinate data collection processes to inform the requirements of key performance indicator data collection and other local, regional and national audit and monitoring processes.
Each midwife is personally responsible and accountable for the care she/he gives to women/birthing people and their babies thus maintaining autonomous contemporaneous practice.
The post holder is required to:
1. Provide advanced and comprehensive maternity assessment based on specialist knowledge and experience in all aspects of antenatal and newborn screening.
2. Counsel and support women/birthing people and their families in their choices regarding screening and the potential outcomes.
3. To co-ordinate the follow up care and counselling of women/birthing people and their families following a high chance or positive result.
4. To co-ordinate the care of a woman following an abnormal Amniocentesis or Chorionic villus sampling result, liaising with other healthcare professionals and outside agencies as appropriate. Ensuring that the needs and wishes of the woman/birthing people are respected and fulfilled at all times.
5. Support and assist other health care professionals in the delivery of the NHS antenatal and newborn screening programmes.
6. To support and deliver a high-quality bereavement support service to women/birthing people and families following pregnancy loss, baby death or maternal death within maternity, neonatal and gynaecology services.
7. Lead and support staff, setting standards of care in the provision of information and practical advice to parents experiencing termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality, stillbirth, neonatal death and maternal death.
8. Work as part of the multi-disciplinary team to coordinate individualised care respecting patient's wishes, including fetal medicine unit, palliative care team or hospice.
9. Offer support with specialist memory making for families.
10. Refer to departmental guidelines, as well as local and national policies whilst planning and implementing evidence based, safe, holistic care for the woman and her baby.
11. Maintain effective relations with the multidisciplinary team to reassess, and evaluate care plans and promptly act to implement these changes.
12. Take into consideration the needs of women/birthing person as reported to the Trust through friends and family feedback.
13. Comply with the local trust documentation requirements (Maternity Records and IT systems) to ensure that records are maintained to reflect the care, treatment, advice and tests provided.
14. Engage in any internal quality assurance and patient safety activities such as audits and incident reporting, whilst encouraging others to do the same.
15. Monitor the quality of work in own area and service and address quality issues and respond to learning incidents accordingly.
16. Initiate and lead on service improvements relating to maternity screening programme at SFT.
17. Be responsible for the updating of clinical guidance relating to screening pathways and services within the trust.
18. Have an awareness of research activity that is happening within the department and contribute to this research when appropriate; be aware of new research and evidence-based practice that could enhance the patient experience and patient care.
19. Use trust resources/equipment with care, effectively and encourages others to do the same.
20. Ensure that stock levels and equipment are maintained adequately.
21. Develop awareness of finance and budgeting and to ensure effective management of available resources.
22. Maintain professional registration.
23. Works within the limit of own competence and area of responsibility and accountability.
24. Work within the NMC Code and Standards of proficiency for midwives.
25. Lead the development of the antenatal and newborn screening programmes and acts as a change agent.
26. To assist in managing antenatal & newborn screening clinical governance issues by identifying and reporting risks or adverse events arising from the screening programmes in accordance with the policies and acts to manage them accordingly.
27. Regularly attend and participate in ward and unit meetings.
28. Regularly attend regional and national forums for antenatal and newborn screening and bereavement within maternity.
29. Actively participate in the revision of clinical guidelines.
30. To provide effective clinical leadership and support all midwives, neonatal nurses and students in relation to screening care.
31. Act up for others as required.
32. Participate in an on-call rota as required to provide a 24-hour midwifery service.
33. Line-manage a defined group of staff in the antenatal clinic area and the wider maternity service.
34. Participate in the appraisal system for self and others.
35. Supports and promotes equality, diversity and the rights of the woman/birthing people, the public and colleagues within the health care environment.
36. Leads on the development and implementation of clinical audits, ensuring that the findings are disseminated, acted on accordingly and good practice is shared across the trust and beyond.
37. To ensure data is recorded accurately and timely into maternity records and IT systems entered.
38. Have oversight and leadership of updating and maintaining information databases & screening systems.
39. To maintain accurate documentation/record keeping for women/birthing people and their families, including ensuring follow up for investigation results.
40. To assist with the development and maintenance of appropriate documentation systems for the programme.
41. Maintaining confidentiality.
42. Sharing information only when essential.
43. To attend the Local Antenatal Screening Co-ordinator's forum on a quarterly basis.
44. Attend external training/forums run by QA/PHE.
45. To actively participate in quality assurance, feeding back through governance structure after implementing learning outcomes from incidents raised, ensuring a mechanism is in place to enable parents to feedback their experience into this process.
46. To actively participate in forums and meetings in relation to the role as required and partnership working with external agencies including the Registrar of Births and Deaths, the Coroner, Primary Care team, Hospital Chaplaincy, Mortuary staff and other local and national counselling and support organisations such as SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society).
47. To comply with the requirements of the current perinatal surveillance data collection schemes MBBRACE-UK and CDOP and the review process i.e. PMRT, MNSI, ensuring that accurate data, reports and documents are completed and forwarded in a timely manner.
48. Attend de-brief meetings to support the parents and support staff.
49. Act as a role model for midwifery practice to all midwifery staff within the care group.
50. Act on, investigate and report complaints, incidents and accidents to the Maternity Matron.
51. Work collaboratively with other professional groups to maximise development opportunities and inter-professional learning opportunities.
52. Maximise opportunities to share good practices and innovations with colleagues locally and nationally.
53. To work a clinical shift on freya/labour ward per month to support the maternity rota and to maintain midwifery skills and experience.
54. Follow NMC guidance on professional Duty of Candour.
55. Facilitate and support the implementation of national and local quality initiatives to improve service delivery e.g. National Bereavement Care Pathway and Maternity Experience Bereavement Measure, Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, Maternity Improvement Plan and Independent Maternity Review recommendations and Maternity Incentive Scheme.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Current NMC Registration as a midwife
* Educated to Diploma/degree level or above
* Completed preceptorship development programme with a minimum of 3 year post qualification experience.
* Basic neonatal and adult resuscitation
* Adult and Children's Level 3 Safeguarding training
* UK driving licence and access to car
* Leadership / management training
* Undertaken subject specific training in screening or bereavement
* NIPE
Experience
* Can practice as an autonomous midwife in the acute and primary care setting
* Experience of working in all aspects of midwifery care
* Knowledge and ability to deal appropriately with high-risk cases
* Knowledge and ability to deal appropriately with obstetric emergencies in the absence of medical staff
* Experience of working with other professionals
* Experience of counselling people regarding maternity screening
* Experience of counselling people experiencing pregnancy, baby loss or maternity death
* Good keyboard and IT skills and a knowledge of data protection
Additional Criteria
* Ability to work as an autonomous practitioner within the hospital and community setting
* Portfolio of annual continuing professional development
* Good knowledge of national issues and those currently impacting upon maternity services
* Sound understanding of the national maternity screening pathways
* A good understanding of the maternity bereavement care pathway
* Sound knowledge of screening tests used in maternity and invasive diagnostic testing
* Understanding and knowledge of KPIs and audit in relation to maternity screening programme
* Approachable and flexible attitude to work
* Regular exposure to unpredictable high levels of clinical activity
* Willing to work throughout the maternity service
* Must be able to practice in all areas in accordance with the Midwives code of conduct
* Able to participate in on-call roster
* Skilled communicator for dealing with highly emotional consultations throughout the childbirth continuum
* Effective communicator within the multidisciplinary team and good interpersonal skills
* Ability to cope with complex obstetric and medical situations, conveying news regarding pregnancy loss, fetal abnormality and child protection on a regular basis.
* Ability to supervise learners
* Evidence of a good standard of Literacy / English language skills
* Effective communicator and interpersonal skills
* Ability to cope with complex obstetric and medical situations, conveying news regarding pregnancy loss, fetal abnormality and difficult safeguarding issues on a regular basis
* Liaise with specialist agencies: Children's Social Care/CCG. Acts as advice resource for other agencies / departments within the provider area.
* Work with service users to understand their views in relation to the services provided
* Able to lead and organise workload within a team in a variety of settings
* To be proactive in responding to the changing needs of the service
* To identify self-training needs and those within the wider organisation
* To meet the requirements of Quality Maternity Standards
* Daily contact with bodily fluids within practice in high-risk situations
* Uses appropriate moving and handling techniques, as part of daily activities assisting women during birth, post operatively and during the postnatal period
* Willingness to use technology to improve standards of care and support to our patients
* In good health and good attendance record
* Ability to cope within a stressful environment and with emotional women/birthing people and their families and supporters on a regular basis
* Is willing to work in all areas - Community and Hospital
* 24-hour service provision including participating in on call rota
* To work a clinical shift on freya/labour ward per month
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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