February 2025
What is your current role?
I'm the midwifery practice leader for the transitional care unit (TCU), which is part of the postnatal ward at St Thomas’ Hospital. With 7 years of experience on the postnatal ward, I joined the TCU team 1 year ago, shortly after it was established.
The TCU is designed to provide extra care for babies who need treatments like antibiotics or jaundice management. It has beds and cots, which means parents can stay with their babies while they're being treated. Before we had a TCU, many of these babies would have been transferred to the neonatal unit, where parents could not stay overnight with their babies.
I see the significant impact the TCU has every day on colleagues, babies, women and birthing people, and their families. By creating an environment where babies can stay with their parents while having treatments, we help families bond and go home more quickly.
The unit has encouraged stronger collaboration among the wider team, including neonatal doctors and our outreach team. Every morning members of the team come together to visit babies and their parents at their bedside to discuss care plans. This time means that the team can support their clinical learning and build a great rapport with families.
Tell us about a typical day
Each day on the ward presents new challenges and opportunities. My responsibilities vary depending on whether I'm working a shift or handling management duties. On shift days, I oversee both the postnatal ward and the TCU, which together consist of 42 beds and cots. My focus is on making sure my colleagues are well-supported and satisfied in their roles. This includes providing guidance and assistance to midwives, support workers, pharmacists, physiotherapists, obstetric doctors, and neonatal doctors.
On management days, I focus on staff development, ensuring that all team members are up-to-date with their training and supporting improvements across the unit. One of the recent initiatives I've introduced is the discharge envelope. This is a collection of helpful, easy-to-understand postnatal guidance which we give to all parents when they take their baby home.
What's the best thing about your job?
I truly value the opportunity to build strong relationships with my colleagues and to offer my support wherever needed. Our team has become a close-knit group, united by a shared commitment to continuously enhancing the care we provide.
I also find great satisfaction in being involved in quality improvement initiatives on the postnatal ward and the TCU. I aim to make sure they are not only excellent places for staff to work but also offer a comfortable, supportive, and positive experience for mothers and birthing people, babies, and their families.
What is your proudest moment?
My proudest moment has been stepping into the role of midwifery practice leader for the TCU and celebrating its 1st anniversary. Over the past year, we have made tremendous progress, and it has been truly rewarding to witness the positive impact we've had on the women and birthing people, babies, and the service as a whole. To mark this milestone, we decorated the ward and shared cake with both the staff and families across the unit, creating a joyful atmosphere that everyone thoroughly enjoyed.
What's next for your team?
We aim to conduct audits to identify areas where we can enhance the TCU. Additionally, we are working towards aligning with the British Association of Perinatal Medicine framework, which means that we'll start providing care for babies who need double phototherapy and those with nasogastric feeding tubes.
Thank you to the children and young people who have so brilliantly illustrated our blog pages.