Receiving multi-million pound investments to support maternity services
Our Women’s Hospital has welcomed new midwives and consultants to boost the care we provide following more than £2 million investment by the Trust. 
This has meant a number of new midwifery and Consultant Obstetrician posts have been funded, welcoming them to the team after the Trust invested over £1 million in the hospital. There has also been an additional national funding following the Ockenden Review which will has already seen further recruitment which continues in the new year.
The investment has come at a time when services in Birmingham and across the country are under increasing pressure.
Rachel Carter, the Women’s Hospital Director of Midwifery and Deputy Chief Nurse, said the investment and arrival of new colleagues had been a welcomed boost but recognized the challenges faced and the work still to do.
One of those midwives is Autumn White, a new qualified midwife who joined the Trust in October last year. She said: “I’ve found it a really positive experience, I’ve learned so much about the more complex sides to midwifery – I’ve been really well supported by staff and you do see the busyness of maternity as a whole but you’re well supported as a new midwife. 
“My best moments have been working with the team over the Christmas period. I was working Christmas Day and they made it feel so homely and so festive! It was so nice to see the team supporting new moms around this time, helping them to become confident in parents and go home with their babies.
“I think the investment will have a huge impact, definitely having more staff around so that we can spend more time with our women, the team is growing and beginning to work more smoothly as we go.
“I’ve found that it’s important to also support colleagues through lots of communication not just about work but also asking them about how their days going, everyone needs a check in every now and then to make sure we can share the workload throughout the day.”
The investment was agreed by the Trust board in the summer of 2020 following the need being identified by the service. The Trust also held a staff led Quality Summit and then considering the culture of our service. These provided greater understanding of the areas for focus for the Quality Improvement Programme launched last year.
Stay tuned for the more quotes from our clinical leads and information across the next couple of weeks.