Manchester midwives celebrate International Women’s Day with national award wins
Midwives from Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester have won two of
the UK's top midwifery prizes at the Royal College of Midwives
(RCM) Annual Midwifery Awards today.
The midwives were presented with their awards at the Royal
College of Midwives Annual Midwifery Awards at a ceremony in The
Brewery, London on International Women's Day, 8th
March. The ceremony was hosted by journalist and broadcaster
Kate Silverton.
Specialist midwives Marie Zsigmond, Amanda Lewis and Siobhan
O'Neill have won the Team of the Year Award for their project to
identify and support potential victims of trafficking (PVoT).
The team worked closely with other agencies including the
police, Home Office and social services. Other initiatives include
mandatory training for staff to recognise the signs of human
trafficking to promote networking, share information, and develop
response strategies and training.
Marie, Amanda and Siobhan said:
"We are overwhelmed by being nominated, shortlisted and then
winning this wonderful accolade. Midwives from across England,
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland had gathered at the ceremony
and without sounding like a cliché, we all fell like winners prior
to the announcement!
"We hope that this award heightens awareness nationally of
trafficking and the vulnerability of the victims during pregnancy,
and the urgency of the appropriate response in order to protect
both the women and their children.
"The Safeguarding Midwives played an important part in Operation
Portsmouth which included the Police, Home Office and Social Care,
but also all the midwives in Saint Mary's Hospital have been
essential in recognising the first point of concern in identifying
these victims."
Karen Connolly, Director of Saint Mary's Hospital said:
"We're thrilled that our midwives have been recognised for their
work, at such a prestigious national event.
"We're incredibly proud of the work they do, and I am really
pleased for them to have received these awards."
Midwife Kirsti Redfern has also won the JOHNSON'S® Mentor
of the Year Award. Kirsti was nominated for the award by midwifery
student Shannon Hogan.
In her nomination Shannon described how Kirsti went out of her
way to ensure that she was placed with women on the unit whose
clinical situation most met her learning needs.
Shannon described Kirsti
as selfless and a midwife who at all times considered the needs of
the woman, while balancing the need for Shannon to gain the right
experience to learn and develop in her placement.
Shannon said: "Kirsti encouraged me to immerse myself fully in
all the learning opportunities she could provide for me and she
really made me remember why I want to be a midwife. After
each shift Kirsti ensured that I was fully debriefed following
whatever events had occurred and allowed me time to reflect on
practice and ask any questions I felt needed answering. I feel
privileged to have worked with such an outstanding midwife."
Cathy Warwick, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives,
said: "To win an award is a real achievement.
"Without midwives, their teams and colleagues from other health
professions pushing at the boundaries of practice we would not see
the care they are able to give to women, babies and their families
improve and move forward. This is innovation in action which will
help maternity services everywhere to deliver safer, better and
continually improving care.
"I congratulate all these women on their achievement and thank
them and their colleagues for their dedication, skill and
commitment to mothers, babies and their families."
To contact the RCM Press Office call 020 7312 3456 or email pressofficer@rcm.org.uk.
For more information visit the RCM website at
https://www.rcm.org.uk/rcm-awards-2016.
- Ends -
Notes to Editors:
Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation
Trust is a leading provider of specialist healthcare services
in Manchester, treating more than a million patients every year.
Its seven specialist hospitals (Manchester Royal Infirmary, Saint
Mary's Hospital, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Manchester
Royal Eye Hospital, University Dental Hospital of Manchester,
Trafford General and Altrincham Hospital) and community services
are home to hundreds of world class clinicians and academic staff
committed to finding patients the best care and treatments. www.cmft.nhs.uk @CMFTNHS
The RCM is the only trade union and professional association
dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team. We
provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical
guidance and information, and learning opportunities with our broad
range of events, conferences and online resources. For more
information visit the RCM website at
https://www.rcm.org.uk/.
