Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical 

•    To provide clinical leadership, giving advice and support to staff as required and acting as women’s advocate at all times. 

•    To monitor and evaluate clinical standards within the department ensuring that clinical practices are evidence based and bench-marked against best practice locally, regionally and nationally.

•    To ensure that all care programmes are accurately documented and that the standard of record keeping reflects the NMC and Trust guidelines for records and record keeping. 

•    To act as an autonomous practitioner to provide highly specialised advice and support to pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes, those who develop gestational diabetes their families and other health care professionals.

•    Develop communication strategies for giving complex information in a variety of formats so that women, birthing people and their families can receive information in a sensitive way that meets their needs. 

•    Demonstrate expert knowledge of and practice in the use of treatment regimens during pregnancy and the immediate post-natal period.

•    To advise on the stabilisation of women on insulin according to locally formulated guidelines and protocols.

•    To support diabetic clinics and manage own caseload.

•    Perform antenatal checks and review ultrasound findings and discuss with the patient and obstetric/medical team as necessary.

•    To review antenatal and postnatal women in hospital and be available via telephone contact for the purpose of assessment, stabilisation and continuing care.

•    To teach women the skills necessary for home blood glucose monitoring and self-administration of insulin.

•    Ability to perform assessments of women’s needs and liaise with other members of the multi-disciplinary team where necessary.

•    To ensure that midwifery practice is appropriate for each individual woman for whom care is provided

•    Work independently and with other health care professionals in primary and secondary care you will be expected to plan and co-ordinate specialised programmes of care.

•    To supervise, support, guide, assist in the development of and assess the competency of midwives and junior medical staff.

•    To participate in the mentoring process with designated personnel as appropriate.

•    To assume responsibility for the safe custody and administration of drugs in accordance with the Trust Policies, Guidelines and Statutory Rules and Regulation.

•    To be part of clinical escalation within the maternity unit.

Management

•    To develop good working relationships with other ward / departments / agencies within and outside the Trust, ensuring that all stakeholders understand, respect and recognise the Trusts philosophy and operational policies. 

•    To provide a visible, accessible and authoritative presence in the maternity unit to whom patients and their families can turn to for assistance, advice and support.

•    To effectively manage the diabetes caseload.

•    To provide effective direction and support to the midwives and clerical staff within the team by communication and role model example.

•    To co-ordinate activity in the diabetes clinics and work within allocated resources. 

•    To maintain effective channels of communication both within and external to the Trust.

•    To investigate complaints, incidents and accidents within the team and assist in their resolution and dissemination of learning outcomes.

•    To attend or send representation to relevant meetings as requested.

•    To allocate and manage own time, creating a balance between clinical and managerial duties.

•    To effectively monitor the performance of all the midwives and support workers in the diabetes team using the Trust’s HR tools and resources. 

Research and Service Development and Education

•    To understand new health care related developments ensuring that midwifery practice is evidence based, cost effective and regularly benchmarked against best practice.

•    To understand all national initiatives and assist in the implementation in order to influence patient care and service delivery.  

•    To be aware of and support local and national research projects as applicable.

•    Attend regional Diabetes Screening Forum and network with other diabetes
specialist midwives.

•    Assist in the design, implementation and evaluation of structured education programmes to meet the needs of health care professionals working both within and outside the Trust.

•    To ensure and facilitate in meeting training needs of student midwives by providing a suitable learning environment and by engaging in clinical teaching where appropriate.

Professional 

•    To provide dynamic and visionary leadership, giving expert, professional advice, guidance and support to staff and service users.

•    To challenge traditional boundaries and introduce new ways of working if applicable.

•    To maintain responsibility for personal and professional development of self, enhancing individual performance to deliver organisational objectives, maintain valid NMC registration and practise in accordance with the NMC Code.

•    To maintain effective communication and working relationships within the team and between the team and with the wider MDT.

•    To actively foster strong links with other clinical areas and support agencies.

Clinical Governance 

•    To ensure that midwifery practice specific to diabetes is in keeping with current research by the development of an evidence based culture and the implementation of research and evidence based protocols and guidelines.

•    To maintain, monitor and evaluate standards of care within the midwifery team and to assist in the implementation of recommendations from Government or Professional bodies in relation to maternity care specific to diabetes.