Maternity Support Worker Advocates
Maternity support workers (MSWs) play a vital role in supporting midwives to deliver quality care to babies, mothers and their families
The RCM believes that MSWs are a vital part of maternity teams across the UK and we want to make sure that the voice of MSWs is being heard in maternity workplaces. We also want to ensure that the RCM understands the needs of our MSW members so that we can support, represent and promote you effectively. We are building a strong network of MSW advocates across the UK.
Benefits of becoming an MSW advocate
Being an active MSW advocate is a brilliant learning and development opportunity for the RCM’s MSW members. As a RCM activist you will gain confidence, skills and knowledge which you can transfer to your own personal and career development. You will be able to contribute to the changing role of the MSW and the wider maternity team, as well as gain knowledge of service developments and increase opportunities for you and your colleagues.
Ultimately, you will have the satisfaction of giving a voice to MSWs in your workplace to ensure that your collective wishes are heard. The RCM is committed to providing training and support to advocates by developing training and resources based on advocates’ needs.
To advocate means to support and promote the interests of others and we hope our network of advocates will become members who act to provide a voice for MSWs in their workplaces. The MSW advocate is not a formally accredited representative and you will need to be elected by your RCM branch. The MSW advocate is not a stand-alone position and can complement any representative role that an MSW member wishes to take on.
MSW advocates will:
- act as spokespeople and provide peer support to MSW members and MSW day lead
- work with other RCM activists in your local branch and workplace
- keep MSW members and other RCM colleagues informed of changes in the workplace and RCM-related news and information
- have access to RCM materials and resources for campaigns and branch events
- advise the RCM on the development of its membership offer to MSWs
- promote the RCM as the union of choice for MSWs in their workplaces and recruit members
For further information email [email protected].
- Recruiting MSWs presentation
- Valuing MSWs
- The Role and Responsibilities of Maternity Support Workers
- Pay Banding and Job Evaluation
- The deployment, education and development of maternity support workers in England
- MSW Health Education England Competency Education and Career Development Framework 2019
- So you want to be a RCM workplace representative
