Moving forward while looking back at 2017
NHS England’s Head of Maternity, Children and Young People reviews 2017, a significant and exciting year for Midwives and those working in maternity services, and a year which saw the transition to a new model of Midwifery supervision, Advocating for Education and Quality Improvement (A-EQUIP).
Travelling around the country, I have witnessed first-hand the positivity, enthusiasm and commitment of midwifery leaders, managers, Midwives and educators who have worked incredibly hard by leading on the implementation of A-EQUIP and the Professional Midwifery Advocate (PMA) role.
I am delighted to say that this hard work and dedication has really helped strengthen and begin to embed the model.
There are currently 23 Higher Education Institutes (HEI) offering a three or four day PMA shortened programme for Midwives who have previously completed the Preparation of Supervisors of Midwives (PoSoM) course.
This year the majority of these HEI’s will be offering a long programme for Midwives who are new to the PoSoM course. Today I am proud to see that most maternity providers in England have supported more than 800 Midwives to complete the PMA education programme and have plans to support more during 2018.
For those of you who would like to know more about A-EQUIP there is an excellent online resource for Midwives who wish to undertake the PMA programme.
I am confident that 2018 will be a successful year for embedding this model of supervision with some moving further, faster. This is evidenced by other professions showing a healthy interest in the implementation of A-EQUIP, and who are keen to understand the benefits of the restorative clinical supervision and personal action for quality improvement functions. I look forward to sharing how these interests unfold.
In our attempts to support the implementation of A-EQUIP and the PMA role, we continue to seek your views about how we can improve our contribution. Early results of a national survey of Midwives and student Midwives regarding knowledge of the PMA role and A-EQUIP show that more information is required to assist Midwives in understanding the model and how it relates to their specific role.
In response to this we are developing a second e-learning module with Heath Education England which will be launched in spring of 2018. I am convinced that this will bring a greater understanding of the both the PMA role and A-EQUIP model, and demonstrate how all Midwives are advocates for women.
Finally, I wish you all a very peaceful and happy 2018. I would like to thank you all, for your continued support and commitment to maternity services and I look forward to meeting and hearing more from you all during the forthcoming year.
Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent
Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent has vast experience in healthcare provision and is the first Chief Midwifery Officer in England.
She has worked as a midwife and a nurse and held senior positions in clinical practice, education, leadership and management including: Director of Midwifery and Nursing positions for Women’s and Children’s services at Imperial College Healthcare Trust & Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Academic roles have included: Senior Lecturer, Curriculum Leader, LME and Professor of Midwifery.
Jacqueline was appointed Chief Midwifery Officer in Spring 2019 at NHS England and NHS Improvement and is National Maternity Safety Champion for the Department of Health. She is also visiting Professor of Midwifery at Kings College London and London South Bank University.
Her experience has seen her leading and influencing national maternity standards and guidance. She also influences healthcare, nationally and internationally through research, education and publications and is frequently invited to speak at national and international conferences. She is a member of the British Journal of Midwifery editorial board and until recently was an active member of the Maternity and Newborn Forum at the Royal Society of Medicine.
She has joined the Tommy’s Charity National Advisory Board as Midwifery advisor, and the Women of the Year management committee. Her voluntary work currently includes Midwifery Advisor for the Wellbeing Foundation Africa and until recently a trustee.
In 2014 she received the HSJ, BME Pioneers award and in 2015 she was selected from over 100 nominations for inclusion on Nursing Times’ Leaders 2015 list that celebrates nurses and midwives who are pioneers, entrepreneurs and inspirational role models in their profession.