Midwives nominated for prestigious national improvement award
Two midwives from our Women’s Hospital have been nominated for a national award for their outstanding contribution to helping save the lives of babies requiring neonatal care.
Louisa Davidson, Consultant Midwife, and 
Dudu Nyathi, Fetal Monitoring Midwife, have been shortlisted for the Service-led Improvement Award at the national NHS Improvements Awards.
The NHS Improvement Awards invites Trusts from across all corners of the UK to submit their projects for recognition, and to share new ways of working - to deliver improved care across the UK. Louisa and Dudu have both been able to lead by example, sharing their Avoiding Term Admissions into Neonatal Units (ATAIN) initiative and implementing the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which has resulted in a significant reduction in term babies being admitted to neonatal units, particularly those with hypoxia (low levels of oxygen).
Louisa said: “It was a brilliant surprise to reach the top five for the NHS Improvement Award, with all of the work that has been put in by our midwifery colleagues, it’s great to share our work to continue supporting the development of our NHS midwifery services.”
Dudu added: “Being shortlisted gave me a huge sense of achievement and recognition for the hard work which would not have been possible without the support of the multidisciplinary team! These are the foundations of reducing perinatal mortality and starting points in improving outcomes for women and their families.”
The frameworks were formed by recognising that Cardiotocography (CTG) and Intermittent Auscultation (IA) monitoring were contributory factors which is a challenge reflected nationally. They aimed to reduce term admissions by 2022 where these elements were most challenging.
To address these challenges, a Fetal Surveillance Midwife was recruited along with the implementation of an educational programme in line with the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, with assessments to follow the teachings, ensuring all knowledge had been understood and to help us to identify colleagues that required greater support. New CTG machines were also added, resulting in further education for our clinicians.
The educational support gave security and guidance for all of our colleagues within our maternity service, with clearly defined roles and pathways to follow. The educational programme introduced an understanding of fetal physiology, to promote individualising care for babies during labour.