These are new and progressive times within midwifery and currently Lewisham & Greenwich Trust Maternity Services have a great opportunity for a Maternity Care Assistant to join our Multi – Professional Team, in its deliverance of high-quality care to our women/birthing people and their families on our labour ward at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich.

Our whole maternity service is exciting and innovative and due to this, we have received awards for our service and midwives and have maintained a CQC rating of good since 2017 with our latest report by the CQC in January 2024 awarding us outstanding for Leadership and commending us on being a dynamic, culturally astute and inclusive place to work.

This role comprises of working within a variety of settings, mainly on delivery suite, supporting midwives and the team by maintaining a safe clinical environment. This will include assisting clients with nutritional and hygiene needs, computer admissions and discharges, theatre duties and general housekeeping. All our staff work within our Trust Values, treating all women and their families with respect and compassion and providing high quality, safe effective care.

You will be involved in maintaining high standards of cleanliness and hygiene within all clinical areas i.e. cleaning delivery rooms, equipment, making beds and keeping a good stock supply.

You will assist the midwives in the care of women/birthing people antenatally, during labour and postnatally to ensure that planned programmes of care are provided, this may include maintaining the general personal hygiene needs of women/birthing people where required such as toileting, bed bathing and oral hygiene.

You will be taught to be aware of the general condition and wellbeing of women/birthing people and babies by close observation so you can report any deviation from the norm immediately to a qualified member of the multi-professional team.

You will assist women/birthing people and their partners in the care of their babies, i.e. nappy changing, bathing and infant feeding, including supporting women /birthing people to breast feed their babies and give them the advice and assistance they require according to the national and trust guidelines.

You may also be required to escort patients to different clinical areas within the unit.

You will assist in the provision of food and drink to women/birthing people if required.

Although you will be based on Labour ward, you may need to work in other areas if required by service needs, this may also incorporate some admin work including the documenting of care you have given.

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development

Widening access (anchor institution) and employability

Improving the experience of staff with disability

Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development

Making equalities mainstream

As a team we are respectful of our colleagues’ views and work as a team to encourage innovation in all that we do. The CQC in their 2024 report quoted staff saying they ‘feel well supported and valued within the team and work in a fair and inclusive environment’.

The Maternity Care Assistant will be part of the multidisciplinary team in the clinical setting. The post

holder is working under the direct / indirect supervision of a midwife in providing a high quality service

that meets the needs of women/birthing people and their babies. They will contribute to ensuring a

safe and clean working environment.