The Scotland Maternity and Midwifery Festival Awards Ceremony took place on the 29th of November 2022 at the annual Scotland Maternity and Midwifery Festival at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh . There was an overwhelming turnout to celebrate the commitment, dedication, contribution and exceptional leadership during the past year to maternity services.

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Scotland Maternity and Midwifery Festival Trailblazer Awards Ceremony 2023

Narrowcast Media Group produced, filmed and live streamed the Awards Ceremony on the day. You can watch back the ceremony on-demand today and catch up on all of the action from the day that you may have missed.

Watch the ceremony (below) and take a look back at some of the best photos from the day in this article.

Scotland Maternity & Midwifery Festival Awards 2022 from Narrowcast Media Group on Vimeo.

Student Midwife Trailblazer Award

WINNER: Robert Gordon Midwifery Society

“The Robert Gordon University Midwifery Society has grown from a society that was about to be closed to a membership of 160 even with significant difficulties to overcome with the COVID-19 lockdowns and a membership that spans Scotland. Bonding as students would have been challenging but the Society have found ways to adapt to bring the students together.

If there’s a will there’s a way! Blether & Bosie sessions were invented; Blether meaning to talk and bosie meaning a hug.

Each month an online Blether & Bosie session is hosted on teams, almost like meeting for coffee, except no matter where you are in Scotland at home or on placement you are able to come along. There is a reliable nurturing warmth in these sessions. Everyone shares where they are, what has gone well recently or their “bee in their bonnet” and the resulting peer support is palpable.

The Midwifery Society regularly hosts interesting speakers such as authors, specialists and trainers. It has harnessed the collective bargaining potential of a large group and gained significant discounts to complementary qualifications for members. The Society has fundraised for charities in the UK and beyond via sponsored activities. In the last year members have enjoyed a wonderful ball and society evenings out. This year the society has added an online market for books and welcomes the newly created location reps to peer support and welcome new students in their new locations across the health boards. There is something interesting to suit everyone with low-cost membership.

The RGU Midwifery Society creates a supportive warm space to help cultivate the successful and comfortable midwives of the future”.

Midwife Education Trailblazer Award

WINNER: Mo Tabib, Midwifery Lecturer, Robert Gordon University

Mo was nominated by a number of her students as lecturer and personal tutor.

Aspects mentioned are:

“During covid lockdown when there was so much uncertainty, and we were attempting to adapt to online learning she adjusted to online teaching rapidly with grace making use of various ways to engage the students at distance. She was experimental in approach and receptive to feedback from cohort rep. She is always methodical and organised in her presentations, honest if she needs to clarify something and can be relied upon to swiftly keep her word. She promotes the education of students rather than simply training, she makes us think through the why rather than learning by rote. She is a real jewel of a lecturer”

“Her passion shines through as you can see her glee when encouraging her students to share new journals / books in class and debating with us. Her lectures are always well attended, and she enjoys excellent rapport with her students. She is a highly respected member of faculty. Her enthusiasm and knowledge are evident – which is impressive given how challenging it can be to engage students in lectures delivered online. She imparts her wisdom in such a way that captivates her students. Mo commits herself in every point of contact she has with her students (even in emails!) and is always insightful and inspiring; she really makes us feel seen and heard. She provides such a welcoming, non-judgemental and empowering atmosphere; it demonstrates her dedication and devotion to midwifery and to teaching the midwives of tomorrow”.

“Midwives in placement who recall her with fondness and continue to be influenced by her gentle and grounded approach to midwifery. She has the ability to see potential and nurture it”.

“When students have faced hardship, she has responded promptly and endeavoured to resolve issues with support”.

“In addition to her full teaching schedule, she is the director of Relaxation Revolution which provides antenatal relaxation sessions, and she has been researching for her recently completed doctorate”.

“She is an inspiration to so many and has significant influence in her contribution towards our profession”.

“First year students say they already know how crucial and valuable she is to the staff and students. She is inspirational and is an amazing lecturer, who is kind, polite and willing to help all her students regardless of their level of Midwifery education and background. She tells us always that there is no such thing as a silly question other than the one you do not ask, and while this may seem small to some, it has helped me to become more confident in speaking up during lectures when I am unsure of something or want to clarify”.

“She allows students enough autonomy to grow but provides guidance when required. Mo gets involved with the teaching, enabling us to learn from many different approaches – ensuring every student gains the opportunity to intake the information in a way that works best for them. Such an inclusive way of teaching is not widely practiced and should be both recognised and encouraged in others”.

“Mo is humble, approachable, empathetic and pragmatic. She is everything a teacher should be, and we are beyond blessed to be able to call her ours. Mo is a beautiful person inside and out, who motivates and reminds at every opportunity why students want to be midwives. She makes me believe in myself and that I will be successful in my journey to be a midwife and that I can provide the support and care to women and their families”.

Midwife Practice Leader Award

WINNER: Lesley Scott, Midwifery Team Leader, WIllow and Lothian Homebirth Team

“Lesley is an absolute legend and deserves this recognition.

Lesley has worked as a midwife in Lothian for over 20 years, a large proportion of that in community and in an area with a lot of social challenges. As part of her community role, she worked with the Access clinic in Lothian, enabling homeless pregnant women to access support, resources and quality maternity care. Lesley moved to join Willow team – one of Scotland’s first Best Start teams – and in the last couple of years took on leadership alongside her clinical caseload. In the wake of COVID-19 recovery, Lothian launched a brand-new Homebirth Team with the aim of delivering a better care to women and easing pressures in community midwifery. Lesley took on leadership team, alongside leading Willow and continuing some clinical work.

With every challenge that comes with starting a new team, Lesley has never failed to put the midwives and the women first. With limited resources, high expectations and essentially a blank canvas, Lesley has been genuine in her compassion and generous with her time, knowledge and expertise, and balanced the demands of the service. She sees everyone’s strengths and celebrates them whilst also encouraging and supporting growth and development. Lesley has had to adapt to the differing needs and challenges of each team, who each have their own ethos. She has revamped the on-call pattern of the homebirth team to help achieve a better work/life balance, more opportunity for flexible working and rest whilst still attaining the aims the team was set up to achieve.

Lesley is an inspiration and whether you have worked with Lesley for 10 minutes, 10 months or 10 years, you are treated with respect and compassion. Lesley is a true advocate for her teams, and we are lucky and grateful to have her as our team leader”.

Supporting Newly Qualified Midwives Award

COMMENDED: Nicola Hain, Midwife, NHS Fife

Other National Awards include:

WINNER: Wendy Warrington (Wanda), Safeguarding Families Specialist Practitioner, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust

Huge congratulations to Wendy Warrington for winning ‘Best Midwife’ at @TheSun #WhoCaresWins Awards this evening for her incredible support to families in Ukraine.

Take a look at Wendy’s presentation at the Northern Maternity and Midwifery Festival this year.

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