Specialist Midwife for Vulnerable Women in the Judicial System

This is an exciting and unique opportunity for a driven and motivated midwife to develop themselves and their skills as our Specialist Midwife for Women in the Judicial System within County Durham and Darlington. You will be based with the community midwifery team in Durham but will hold the caseload of pregnant women and birthing people who are housed in prison at HMP Low Newton and at other secure estates across Durham and Darlington.

This full time post will be 0.8 wte within the Judicial system as Band 7 lead, with the remainder of the hours as band 6 community midwife. As a specialist midwife in a senior role you will benefit from a supernumerary period within our organisation and, following on from successful interview, you will be provided with contact and ongoing support from the team. You will be supported and welcomed into your role and given the opportunity to continue to develop your senior midwifery skills and leadership through our varied CPD programmes. We are keen to develop highly trained Midwives who can deliver exceptional care to the families of County Durham and Darlington. We particularly welcome applications from disabled and BAME candidates as they are currently under‑represented.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for an experienced senior midwife who is committed to providing exceptional care to some of the most vulnerable members of our community. This is a challenging but highly rewarding opportunity to make a real difference to the outcomes of a very specialised demographic during pregnant and postnatal care. You will spend 30 hours a week caring for this caseload and providing support to the service as a band 7 specialist midwife. The remaining 7.5 hours of your weekly work will be as a band 6 midwife within our community midwifery team, where you will hold a small caseload in a community area and be a part of our established community team.

We will take into consideration your skills and knowledge and develop a plan with you to support your transition into this important role. You will be welcomed and supported with a supernumerary period and access to our pastoral and practice development team, including our PROMPT training programme. Our active PMA service and Workforce lead midwife will arrange your onboarding from the time of your successful interview to ensure that you are equipped to confidently commence in your new role with us.

Job responsibilities

We are looking for a skilled, compassionate and innovative senior midwife who is ready for this challenging but rewarding leadership role and who is keen to further develop their skills and knowledge in a supportive environment. The post holder will provide innovative professional leadership, advice and guidance to midwifery staff and other professionals working with their area of responsibility and whilst caring for women and birthing people within the judicial system during pregnancy and the postnatal period.

The post holder will be required to work with a high level of autonomy in order to support and develop the service, including implementation of national initiatives and appropriate models of care for vulnerable groups. The post holder will be based with the community midwifery team in Durham but will hold the caseload of pregnant women who are in prison and other secure estates across County Durham and Darlington. They will carry out all antenatal care provision within the prison, liaising with the multidisciplinary team to ensure effective care and communication takes place.

The post holder will report to the Head of Midwifery and the specialist matrons and work closely within the wider midwifery team; however the role requires a self‑led practitioner who can work autonomously and independently for sustained periods. This will include the ability to prioritise and provide care around the structure and restrictions of the Prison Service. The post holder will assist other prison health personnel and services to set, monitor and maintain robust arrangements within maternity services including training programmes and collaborative inter‑agency working.

The post holder will provide advice and support to health and welfare professionals, both within and external to the hospital setting. They will assist in ensuring that care pathways and service provision continues to develop according to need and is delivered in an evidence‑based and focused manner, in accordance with national and local guidance. The post holder will have an awareness of the political agenda in relation to social exclusion and health inequalities and the impact of these on women and their families. There will be an expectation that the post holder will work closely with community services in the local area, including Health Visitors and Safeguarding Services. An underpinning knowledge and significant experience of safeguarding procedures would be advantageous to the role.

The post holder will also lead on Public Health promotion to meet the needs of the caseload. This will involve work in collaboration with our Matron for Public Health and Inequalities, to ensure the safe and sustainable support of women and birthing people experiencing the Judicial System and the challenges this presents to their physical and psychological wellbeing in pregnancy and the postnatal period.

As an inspirational leader within our service you will be expected to support the development of learners within our organisation and facilitate safe and innovative learning environments which can enable our future midwives to experience and develop an understanding of the midwifery care of vulnerable groups. This post requires a clear enhanced DBS check inline with HMP staffing guidelines.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered Midwife with current UK NMC PIN
• Significant experience at Band 6
• Evidence of ongoing professional development
• Recognised teaching / assessing qualification
• Master or equivalent experience
• Trained NIPE practitioner

Experience

• Significant experience at Band 6.
• Evidence of on‑going professional development and participation in development of maternity services.
• Evidence of providing midwifery care and health education to vulnerable and excluded groups.
• Implementation of audit/research recommendations.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with ability to communicate within the multidisciplinary team as well as with women and their families.
• Evidence of contribution to the development of the Maternity service.
• Experience of linking with outside agencies.
• Evidence of involvement in the audit cycle.
• Knowledge of and contribution to clinical governance framework.

Special Skills and Knowledge

• A non‑judgemental and open approach to working with women and their families within the judicial system and their families.
• Must have the ability to work in collaboration across numerous stakeholders
• Awareness of political agenda in relation to social exclusion, deprivation and health inequalities and the impact that these have on women and their families.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to provide written and verbal reports.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Strong analytical skills.
• The ability to practice as an expert practitioner in relation to women within the judicial system.
• Effective organisational skills.
• Good knowledge base of clinical information systems and the appropriate application of IT to clinical practice.
• An enthusiastic and supportive leader who motivates people.
• Critical analysis and judgement skills.
• Proven clinical skills.
• Evidence of significant safeguarding experience.

Special Requirements

• Ability to travel to meet the requirements of the role as this is rotational across the acute sites.

Statutory Registration

Registered Nurse (adult or Child) on part 1 of the NMC register. Valid UK NMC PIN.

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. You must be able to produce all certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre‑employment checks.