5 August 2016

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals signs maternity services Charter


Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation has become the latest NHS Trust to sign up to the Royal College of Midwives’ Caring for You Charter.

The Charter is one of the cornerstones of the RCM’s Caring for You campaign, and aims to further improve maternity services for women and babies by improving the wellbeing of staff, so they are able to give even better care to women and their families.

Launched in June, the ‘Caring for You’ campaign is encouraging all NHS Trusts across the UK to sign up to the Charter.

Signing the Charter means Sheffield Teaching Hospitals will commit to working with the RCM’s health and safety representatives to improve midwives, student midwives and maternity support workers’ health, safety and wellbeing at work.

The RCM believes that when Heads of Midwifery and RCM health and safety representatives work in partnership and take action on health, safety and wellbeing, it makes a difference.

Paula Schofield, Nurse Director and Head of Midwifery at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Our staff are enormously proud of the services they provide to women and their families and the service was recently assessed and rated as ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission. I am delighted to be signing this Charter on their behalf, and welcome the extra support the RCM will help us provide to ensure the health and wellbeing needs of our maternity services staff continues to be met.”

Lynne Galvin, RCM Regional Officer for Yorkshire, said: “I am delighted that the Trust has signed the Charter. They have a committed team of midwives and maternity support workers at the Trust. This is a very positive move by the Trust and I welcome their commitment to staff and the people they care for.”

The Charter outlines five key principles:

  • Work in partnership with the RCM Health and Safety Representative to develop and implement an action plan about health, safety and wellbeing issues that are important to the maternity workforce and maternity service users
  • Ensure that midwives and maternity support workers have access to a variety of shift patterns and flexible working and promote a positive workplace culture around working time including taking breaks
  • Foster a positive working environment for all by signing up to the RCM/RCOG statement of commitment calling for zero tolerance policy on undermining and bullying behaviours
  • Enable midwives and maternity support workers to access occupational health and other organisational policies for both their mental and physical health, safety and wellbeing.
  • Nurture a compassionate and supportive workplace that cares for midwives and maternity support workers so that they can care for women and their families.

For more information on the Caring for You campaign visit https://www.rcm.org.uk/caring-for-you.

ENDS

Photo: Head of Midwifery at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Paula Schofield and midwife and RCM Health and Safety Representative Helen Hunt with the Charter

 

MEDIA CONTACT:
Claudia Blake, Communications Specialist
Tel: 0114 226 5033
Email: claudia.blake@sth.nhs.uk
 



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