To:
- Directors and heads of midwifery
- Directors of nursing
- Integrated care board chief nurses
- Regional chief nurses
cc.
- Regional:
- chief and deputy chief midwives
- lead midwives for workforce training and education
- heads of nursing
- Lead midwives for education
Dear Colleagues,
Labour ward coordinator education and development framework
NHS England recognise the importance of the Labour Ward Coordinator role within maternity settings, and as highlighted in both the Kirkup report and Ockenden review. The Workforce Training and Education Directorate at NHS England has worked with key stakeholders across the country to develop a nationally recognised pathway of development for Labour Ward Coordinators (LWC), as set out in the 3-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services (2023).
The Labour ward coordinator education and development framework is the first of its kind for this role and defines the core proficiencies required by people in these roles across six domains. It is hoped that by enabling continuous development of a standardised set of knowledge and skills that people in and aspiring towards the LWC role will continue to support the delivery of the highest quality care for women, birthing people, and babies.
Alongside the core proficiencies, there are role descriptors, an organisational readiness tool which can be used to consider how the role is supported across the organisation, support to develop business cases for the role, and a resource toolkit to support individuals to meet the proficiencies.
The development of the Labour ward coordinator education and development framework is in line with the Maternity Incentive Scheme, and we encourage you and your colleagues to use and embed the framework to support the development of Registered Midwives in and into these roles.
Yours sincerely,
Kate Brintworth, Chief Midwifery Officer for England, NHS England
Duncan Burton, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer – Delivery & Transformation Programmes, NHS England
Publication reference: PRN00730_ii