Midwifery continuity of carer model expanded to Daisy Hill Hospital

17th April 2024

A new way of working which provides mothers-to-be with complete continuity of care and midwives they know has expanded to the Newry and surrounding area.

The Southern Health and Social Care Trust launched its first Continuity of Midwifery Carer (CoMC) team in April 2023 in the Portadown, Lurgan and Brownlow areas with the introduction of Team Emerald.

Now the Trust have expanded the initiative to the Newry and Rathfriland areas with the creation of Team Sapphire. Mums who are part of CoMC will see a small team of midwives follow them through every step of their pregnancy journey, building strong relationships with them and their families and providing seamless support from booking through to labour and postnatal period.

There are eight experienced midwives and one maternity support worker within the new Team Sapphire.

Maria Garvey, CoMC Lead Midwife, said:

“Continuity of care teams differ in that mums-to-be are assigned a named midwife who follows them throughout their pregnancy journey – including being present during labour and the birth of their baby.

“If for any reason the named midwife cannot attend the whole journey another member of the team would be present – who they will also have met at meet the team events.

“Over the past year we have seen that being part of CoMC has had a positive impact on improving safety, clinical outcomes, as well as a better birth experience.

“We are delighted to roll this new approach out to Daisy Hill, in addition to the wide range of high-quality maternity services provided from the hospital.”

“There were 1879 births last year at Daisy Hill. The hospital has a midwifery led suite – offering a home from home environment for those lower risk women and a delivery suite, including obstetric theatres supported by 24/7 anaesthetics for those who require more medical intervention.”

Wendy Clarke, Interim Assistant Director said:

“We are very excited to be expanding our successful continuity of care service into the Newry and Rathfriland areas.

“The feedback from the mums involved in the Craigavon area has been fantastic. They have said that continuity enables them to build a very strong relationship with their midwife and have had a very positive birth experience as a result.

“Our long-term vision is to provide this service across the whole of the Southern Trust as further teams are developed to cover our local towns and areas.”

Mothers can choose CoMC when they refer themselves directly for maternity care via your midwife Self Referral Form Maternity Care.

Meet Team Sapphire below or find out more about CoMC and why evidence tells us that providing your care this way is better for you and your baby by clicking here

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Maria, CoMC Lead MidwifeMaria, CoMC Lead Midwife. I have been a Midwife for many years working through all areas of Maternity and then as a Delivery Suite Sister in Craigavon Area Hospital. I moved out into Community Midwifery initially to Brownlow and then to Armagh and Dungannon. I became the Team Leader for Armagh and Dungannon in 2016 and was there until I took up my current role as Lead Midwife for Continuity of Midwifery Carer. (CoMC) I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to lead on the Regional design and implementation stage of introducing CoMC on behalf of the Trust. I am very passionate about CoMC as it will be a way of working within Maternity Services that will provide integrated, appropriate and seamless care for all women through their journey from pregnancy and birth to the early parenting period. While all pregnant women need a midwife, many women will also need an obstetrician. Women may also need to see a range of other specialists including doctors, mental health professionals, allied health professionals or specialist midwives and nurses, depending on their particular needs. All of this will be delivered within the new model which I am delighted about the inclusiveness for all women.

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Oonagh, CoMC MidwifeOonagh, CoMC Midwife. I am delighted to be Joining the CoMC team in Newry. I have worked in the NHS for 18 years, starting out as a ICU nurse and as a Midwife for the last 14 years in the Southern Trust, working in all of the departments in Craigavon and Daisy Hill. I am passionate about maternity and supporting families through what can be a life changing experience. I feel antenatal education and empowering families to birth their way through informed choice is very important. I have been providing antenatal education for over 10 years and most recently working with Newry Surestart. I am also a practicing IBCLC and Reflexologist. I look forward to meeting all the future families and offering Continuity throughout your Journey.

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Grace, CoMC MidwifeGrace, CoMC Midwife. I have been a registered nurse for 11 years and qualified as a Midwife for four years. I am currently working as a community midwife in the Newry Area. I am so excited about COMC because I love getting to know women and supporting them through pregnancy, birth and postnatal period. This model will help women to feel empowered, respected and cared for whilst knowing their midwife. It is an honour to look after women and their families through such a special journey in their lives and I feel it will offer high quality individualised care.

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Lydia, CoMC MidwifeLydia, CoMC Midwife. I have been a midwife in Daisy Hill for over two years where I have enjoyed working across all areas of maternity, and most recently in MLU. I am delighted to be part of the first Continuity of Midwifery Carer team for Daisy Hill, Team Sapphire. Through the continuity model, our team will be able to offer holistic, women-centred care to the women in our caseload, which will improve women’s experiences and outcomes throughout their pregnancy journey, birth and postnatal period

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Nicole, CoMC MidwifeNicole, CoMC Midwife. I’m a relatively new midwife to SHSCT. Having completed my degree in Queens University Belfast (2018 – 2021), I was very fortunate to commence my post in Daisy Hill Hospital in 2021. I have been active in all areas of midwifery care within this time and have thoroughly enjoyed being able to support and educate women and their families from community, ante/postnatal and delivery suite. I have always been very keen in the continuity of midwifery carer model, I fully believe the wonderful feedback from our sister team Emerald and indeed all women who have benefited from the model speak volumes. While pregnancy is a very exciting time, for many, it comes with uncertainty and anxieties. Having a familiar voice/face on the other end of the phone encourages stronger and more open relationships between woman and midwife, contributing to the positive outcomes evident from the statistics and experiences of women from this model of care. I am excited to start offering holistic, dedicated family centred care across the whole pregnancy continuum for the families in the Newry area.

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Helena, CoMC MidwifeHelena, CoMC Midwife. Whilst looking after my own five children, I worked as a Peer Breastfeeding Support Worker. This encouraged me to do my Midwifery degree in Queen’s University. I have now worked as a midwife in Craigavon Hospital for seven years, the majority of that time in Delivery Suite but also on the antenatal, postnatal and MLU wards. I am delighted to be part of the CoMC team in this area and hope to provide dedicated care to women with the caseload throughout their pregnancy, birth and postnaal period.

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Elaine, CoMC MidwifeElaine, CoMC Midwife. I began my career with the Southern Trust in 1997 when I started as a Healthcare assistant in gynae. I progressed on to Staff nurse for a number of years. While I loved nursing, I always had a passion for midwifery. I completed my midwifery 10 years ago and have had the privilege of looking after many women and their families antenatally and postnatally. I am delighted to now be part of the CoMC team. I believe that the team can improve a women’s experience whilst developing a relationship and rapport due to the small team of midwives. This new model will support women’s decisions and offer centred individualised care.

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Rachael, CoMC MidwifeRachael, CoMC Midwife. I’ve been a practicing midwife for 12 years, working for the Southern Trust since 2014. I have worked mainly in maternity, delivery suite and MLU and have completed additional training at Queens including hypnobirthing and Perinatal Mental Health. I am excited to be part of the first COMC team in the Newry and Mourne area and look forward to providing individualised, holistic care to the women on our caseload.

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Rachel, CoMC MidwifeRachel, CoMC Midwife. Having worked in maternity for seven years now in total – I started as a HCA, having trained as a Maternity Support Worker and was supported by the entire team of DHH to further my career as a midwife in 2019. Having qualified in 2022, I have been a member of the Midwifery team and have worked in various areas of the service. I am over the moon to now be part of the COMC Sapphire Team – supporting women and families along their journey through pregnancy and childbirth. Continuity is extremely important to me within maternity and I am so excited to be working with an amazing group of girls as we introduce this service to the area of Newry and Rathfriland.