Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main responsibilities are covered in the attached job description and specification.

Clinical

Place the patient’s experience at the core of service delivery.

Maintain a professional attitude at all times in line with Royal Berkshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust CARE values and in accordance with The Code for Nurses and Midwives (NMC).

Be the contact for women experiencing mental health difficulties and who are without a mental health provider or whose mental health provision needs supplementation require specific midwifery context.

Liaise with and provide support to the Maternity Safeguarding Team where care is co-shared or during periods of absence or high acuity demands.

Assist with birth planning for women with complex mental health needs supporting staff during admissions to services.

Where relevant in complex care planning, attend pre-birth and discharge planning meetings with Safeguarding Teams and Social Care, in order to support colleagues in providing reports, and to help formulate a birth plan and a family support/child protection plan.

Be the co-named midwifery contact for women with perinatal mental health conditions and oversee the care and support planning for women with mild to moderate mental health disorders in collaboration with community midwives, GP and Health Visitors.

Liaise with in-house psychiatric medicine teams and out of area specialist mental health providers where local pregnant women are admitted and cared for in alternative service facilities.

Support collaborative working and triage referrals to the Joint Mental Health Clinic and ensure birth planning, care management medication review are shared with multi-disciplinary teams for women with moderate to severe mental health conditions.

Participate and contribute to monthly Joint Vulnerable Women’s meetings and Berkshire Healthcare Perinatal Steering Group meeting enhancing collaborative working between service providers.

Organise bimonthly MDT meetings with the Maternity Safeguarding Team/ Poppy Team to support women whose mental health may impact on their ability to parent and develop support plans for this cohort of service users. This include development of mental health pathways for women who have lost custody over their baby.

Partake in the Senior Midwives Manager on Call rota

Leadership

In a specialist midwifery role, deliver feedback that is supportive and constructive and foster an ethos that errors or mistakes are opportunities to learn and develop from.

Act as a role model demonstrating visibility in leadership and promote high standards of care.

Demonstrate excellent communication skills enabling maintenance of high-quality service within a complex and challenging environment with often conflicting priorities.

Commit to a culture of specialist learning and maintain professional scope of practice, service specific capabilities and competencies as expected of senior midwifery staff.

Demonstrate that women are involved in both decisions affecting their care and well-being and in service development. Work in partnership with Maternity and Neonatal Voice Partnerships to evaluate maternal experience within local maternity care.

Practice in line with organisational CARE values prioritising Data Protection and Caldecott principles upholding patients’ dignity and human rights at all times. Promote a culture of taking actions where violations of rights, discrimination or oppression is observed.

In partnership with the Obstetric Consultants, Consultant Midwives and external Mental Health Specialist providers, undertake the continuous improvement of services for women and birthing people with complex perinatal mental health needs. Manage and lead the process of change to reflect innovation, compassion and dedication to safe care at RBFT. This includes reviewing opportunity for additional sites for perinatal mental health joint care provision such as West Berkshire and Wokingham.