Job summary
Preterm birth is a common complication of pregnancy and the single biggest cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality in the UK. Over 52,000 babies (7.3% of all live births) in England and Wales are born preterm (before 37+0 weeks of pregnancy). There has been no decline in the preterm birth rate in the UK over the last 10years.
Babies born preterm have high rates of neonatal and infant morbidity and mortality and the risk of this increases as gestational age at birth decreases. Babies who survive preterm birth have increased rates of disability.
You will play a pivotal role in implementing care for this cohort of women and be supported in this by the lead consultant for preterm birth. You will work closely with her, the multidisciplinary team and the sonography team. Correct identification of women at increased risk of preterm birth will give an opportunity to administer interventions which have been shown to be beneficial either in the prolonging of a pregnancy or in reducing subsequent neonatal morbidity and mortality.
- Interview Date 29 May 2025
- 24 Hours/Week
- You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy.
Main duties of the job
The specialist midwife for preterm birth and in line with the Maternal Neonatal Collaborative work (2019) and Saving Babies Lives version 3, element 5 (2023) we aim to improve the safety and outcomes of maternal and neonatal care by providing high quality and safe care through clinical excellence.
Excellent communication and networking skills will be essential in this role along with experience in audit and report writing.
The successful candidate will be an experienced midwife and be responsible for leading in the development of care and management of women who are at increased risk of preterm birth. This will involve working collaboratively with the lead consultant for preterm birth and others within the multidisciplinary team and extend regionally in realising key performance indicators to reduce preterm births and therefore perinatal mortality and morbidity.
The successful candidate will also work autonomously within the Preterm antenatal clinic alongside the consultant, managing and supporting women at risk of preterm birth. This support will be bespoke and will involve supporting decision making and counselling of parents when preterm birth is a risk for them. Awareness of national and local guidelines is essential in developing this service.
Alongside patient education and support, staff education and dissemination of the care available to improve outcomes for these women not only antenatally but intrapartum and postnatally will be an important aspect of this role.
About us
Our staff oversee over 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:
o Freeman Hospitalo Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)o Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)o Newcastle Dental Hospitalo Newcastle Fertility Centreo Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbriao Northern Genetics Serviceo Cramlington Manor Walks
These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under 'Documents to download' or 'Supporting documents'.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Lead midwife providing specialist care and advice for women attending the prevention of Preterm birth service.
- To plan, assess and evaluate full programme of individualised care from pre-conception to post natal period, taking cognisance of social, physical, psychological and cultural needs.
- Midwifery link for prevention of Pre-Term birth.
- Works autonomously within NMC, National Standards, Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle (3) Reducing preterm births and optimising perinatal care, Trust, regional and Directorate Guidelines in delivering key performance indicators. This includes report writing to demonstrate compliance with a variety of care quality indicators.
- Providing management / leadership and participate with education and training to midwives within the maternity unit who are caring for Women who are at risk of preterm birth.
- Liaise with the multi-disciplinary team to ensure all aspects of the pre term birth service are monitored and managed effectively Along with delivering quality improvements to this service.
- Lead on audits that are appropriate to the service
- Engage at a regional level with Preterm birth network preparing cases for MDT and preparation/presentation of NUTH data to show compliance with care quality metrics.
Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate.The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first months pay.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Lead midwife providing specialist care and advice for women attending the prevention of Preterm birth service.
- To plan, assess and evaluate full programme of individualised care from pre-conception to post natal period, taking cognisance of social, physical, psychological and cultural needs.
- Midwifery link for prevention of Pre-Term birth.
- Works autonomously within NMC, National Standards, Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle (3) Reducing preterm births and optimising perinatal care, Trust, regional and Directorate Guidelines in delivering key performance indicators. This includes report writing to demonstrate compliance with a variety of care quality indicators.
- Providing management / leadership and participate with education and training to midwives within the maternity unit who are caring for Women who are at risk of preterm birth.
- Liaise with the multi-disciplinary team to ensure all aspects of the pre term birth service are monitored and managed effectively Along with delivering quality improvements to this service.
- Lead on audits that are appropriate to the service
- Engage at a regional level with Preterm birth network preparing cases for MDT and preparation/presentation of NUTH data to show compliance with care quality metrics.
Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate.The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first months pay.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential
- Registered Midwife
- Degree level study in a health-related subject or relevant clinical experience
- Meets NMC requirements for Mentorship
Desirable
- Driving license
- Recent clinical experience
- Research experience
- PGC in obstetric ultrasound
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Recent knowledge and experience of caring for women at increased risk of pre term birth
- Recognised teaching/assessing qualification
- Current knowledge of care of women at increased risk of pre term birth
- Evidence of continuous professional and personal development
Desirable
- Recent clinical experience
- Knowledge of working within the Obstetric clinical team
Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Leadership and interpersonal/communication skills, and evidence of participation in change management and practice development
- Disciplined in the management of own workload, having confidence and ability to change review and advise women/colleagues on the care of women at risk of pre term birth
- Basic IT Skills
Person Specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential
- Registered Midwife
- Degree level study in a health-related subject or relevant clinical experience
- Meets NMC requirements for Mentorship
Desirable
- Driving license
- Recent clinical experience
- Research experience
- PGC in obstetric ultrasound
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Recent knowledge and experience of caring for women at increased risk of pre term birth
- Recognised teaching/assessing qualification
- Current knowledge of care of women at increased risk of pre term birth
- Evidence of continuous professional and personal development
Desirable
- Recent clinical experience
- Knowledge of working within the Obstetric clinical team
Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Leadership and interpersonal/communication skills, and evidence of participation in change management and practice development
- Disciplined in the management of own workload, having confidence and ability to change review and advise women/colleagues on the care of women at risk of pre term birth
- Basic IT Skills
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
