Country news: Scotland

By Mary Ross-Davie on 25 May 2018 Midwives Magazine Scotland

News and updates from RCM Scotland by director Mary Ross-Davie (MidwivesSummer 2018).

Scottish success:

It was fantastic to see four UK winners from Scotland at the RCM awards in March. Congratulations to the Lanarkshire team for winning midwifery service of the year; Iona Duckett and Michelle Carter for their policy into practice award; Lisa Allan from Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) who won members’ champion and Mary Hannaway and Rhona Wilson, also from GGC, who won the excellence in maternity care award. Congratulations also to Michelle Carter from NHS Tayside who won the Scottish mum’s midwife of the year.

Changing places:

HoMs Helen Bryers in NHS Highland and Angela Cunningham in NHS Ayrshire and Arran are moving on to new chapters as they retire from their posts, and we wish them both well. Welcome and congratulations to Attica Wheeler who has been appointed as the new HoM in Ayrshire and Arran.

Influencing:

The RCM Scotland team is actively involved in a range of key negotiations and national groups to get the best for its members and maternity services. This includes pay for NHS workers in Scotland following the English pay announcement, planning for future student numbers and financial support arrangements, the Best start policy implementation, the development of the midwifery workforce planning tool and safe staffing legislation.

Clinical supervision:

The new Scotland-wide approach to clinical supervision for midwives was officially launched by the cabinet secretary for health Shona Robison at a seminar event in Wishaw in March. The team at NHS Education Scotland has provided training for the new supervisor role for around 170 midwives across Scotland. The role focuses on building resilience through group and one-to-one sessions that aim to ‘respond, reflect and restore’.

CEO Visit to Grampian:

RCM CEO Gill Walton brought The Big Conversation to Grampian in March with a visit to meet teaching and research staff at Robert Gordon University and branch members in Aberdeen.We would encourage members across Scotland to get involved with The Big Conversation by holding discussions at branch meetings, as the Glasgow branch did in March, or by completing the questionnaire at bit.ly/Big_Conversation Get your voices heard!