Trust recruits 10 internationally-educated midwives to maternity services

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) has recruited 10 internationally-trained midwives to its maternity services, with a commitment to recruit a further two midwives from overseas each year to be more representative of its local communities.

Each midwife has been through an extensive induction and training period to equip them for practice in the UK.

Internationally-educated midwife, Judith Nchukwa, said: “I came to Telford 6 months ago after working as a midwife in my home-country of Zambia. I’m currently working on Delivery Suite but will rotate through other areas including antenatal and postnatal care.

“I wanted to work in the UK to learn new skills and I’ve met so many lovely people and learnt so much. Colleagues at SaTH are ready to teach you at any time, they’re so knowledgeable and I’ve really been given the opportunity to showcase my experience.

“My favourite area of practice is community midwifery. You spend a lot of time with women, you see them throughout their pregnancy, and there is often the opportunity to follow up with them in the days afterwards.

“The best thing about working at SaTH is the leadership. If you are worried about anything you feel that you can approach anyone. Managers make sure you are happy, and they give you opportunities to learn.”

Director of Midwifery, Annemarie Lawrence, said: “We feel proud and lucky to have welcomed 10 internationally-educated midwives to our maternity services.

“These midwives work in a supernumerary capacity which means without being counted as part of the staffing required for safe care, to allow them to gain knowledge and clinical expertise in a safe, supported environment, to support their transition to independent practice. 

“As well as bringing a more diverse element to our workforce, which represents our diverse local population, we have loved getting to know our new colleagues as individuals and valued members of our team.”