Patron of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal met midwives, maternity support workers (MSWs) and other maternity staff at Croydon University Hospital this week (Tuesday 15 September) in South London.
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Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal visits Croydon maternity services

By Gemma Murphy on 16 September 2020 RCM Maternity Services Specialist Midwives RCM Patron Royal Family HRH The Princess Royal Midwives MSWs - Maternity Support Workers RCM CEO RCM President covid-19 Covid-19

Patron of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal met midwives, maternity support workers (MSWs) and other maternity staff at Croydon University Hospital this week (Tuesday 15 September) in South London.

Accompanied by the RCM’s Chief Executive Gill Walton and President Kathryn Gutteridge, the Princess Royal listened with interest as she learnt about the response by the Trust and the maternity team to COVID-19 and unveiled a special plaque to commemorate the visit. As part of the visit, she met staff in the Trust’s state of the art Lucina birth centre and the hospital delivery suite. 

Commenting, RCM CEO, Gill Walton said:

“This visit was a great opportunity for the Princess Royal, as the RCM’s patron, to hear first-hand from midwives and maternity support workers at Croydon about their work to ensure women and their babies are receiving good quality care, despite the current pandemic. It’s great to see the pride with which the maternity staff talked about their work, particularly the support they’ve been able to give the women in their care and it has certainly boosted morale across the Croydon maternity team.”

The Royal visit also took time to view the dedicated bereavement suite and spoke to its specialist bereavement midwife about the support the service can offer bereaved parents at an incredibly difficult time.

 

Elaine Clancy, Chief Nurse and Executive Director for Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust said:

“The COVID-19 pandemic challenged some of the traditional ways we care for pregnant women and their babies, reducing face to face appointments and limiting visitors to hospitals. Despite this, our commitment to our community in Croydon has been unwavering.

“We replaced face to face appointments with telephone and video consultations, to ensure we could still be there for all of our expectant mums and launched a dedicated helpline, staffed by highly trained midwives who provided advice and reassurance to those who had questions about COVID-19 and their pregnancy.

“I’m incredibly proud of each and every one of our maternity staff for their continued dedication to providing the best possible care in hospital, in our community clinics and to women in their own homes.”

 

 

 

ENDS

 

 

To contact the RCM media office call 020 7312 3456 or email [email protected].

 

Notes to Editors

The RCM is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team. We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences and online resources. For more information visit the RCM website at https://www.rcm.org.uk/. 

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