Job summary

Full/Part Time Positions Available

We are seeking enthusiastic and dynamic midwives to join our highly motivated Midwifery team at The Countess of Chester. The post holder will have completed their preceptorship and will be expected to rotate around Labour ward, Antenatal/Postnatal Ward and Antenatal Clinic

We are committed to providing a safe and positive experience to our women, while recognising that staff are our greatest asset. We engage with our staff at all levels to discuss ideas to improve our care, while providing staff development opportunities.

With 2300 births per year, our Maternity Service includes the following:

• An alongside midwifery unit
• An 8 bed consultant led obstetric Unit
• A Community midwifery service
• A Fetal Medicine Service inc. preterm clinics
• A 27 bed antenatal and postnatal ward providing 4 transitional care beds
• Specialist midwives within Bereavement, Infant Feeding, Perinatal Mental Health Midwife, Fetal Services, saving babies lives, fetal monitoring and practice development.
• Close relationship with our local Maternity Voice Partnership

We are also excited to announce we are currently working on plans for our new maternity unit which is planned to open in 2025.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will assess the full range of care needs and as a result develops, implements and evaluates programmes of care throughout the ante-natal, intra-partum and post-natal period in either the hospital or community setting for women and their babies.

We ask all employees to be flexible in their role, to always ensure we are delivering Safe, Kind and Effective care. The list below is to outline the main duties; however this is subject to change and will vary within the given role. We ask all employees to be flexible in their role

1. Work autonomously within guidelines and Sphere of Professional Practice within a designated area whilst being responsible for performing a comprehensive assessment plan, implementation and evaluation of care delivery according to the health and social needs of women and their babies.
2. Work collaboratively with other professionals and agencies to ensure women and their families' needs are met especially in relation to ongoing health/social requirements and discharge arrangements.
3. Work collaboratively to ensure care women receive is safe, kind and effective.
4. Establish and maintain effective communication with women and their families.
5. Collect, collate and report information, ensuring accurate records are maintained
6. Recognise and respond appropriately to urgent and emergency situations
7. Involve women and their families in the planning and delivery of care.

About us

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Its services are provided from three locations:

• The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 438 general and acute beds
• Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 56 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility
• Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Trust employs over 6258 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 407,000. This includes 357,000 residents in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire which has a population of approximately 50,000.

The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery. This is an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to the previous year when there were 494,387 patient attendances.