Last week we celebrated our first festival of the year – the London Maternity & Midwifery Festival 2025. Take a look at the winners from the London Midwifery Trailblazer Awards Ceremony. The Awards recognised outstanding achievement and commitment to maternity and midwifery services.
Narrowcast Media Group produced, filmed and live streamed the Awards Ceremony which you can now watch on-demand and catch up on all of the action from the day that you may have missed.
Watch the ceremony (below) and take a look at our Trailblazer award winners in this article.
Watch the awards here: https://vimeo.com/1055582664?share=copy
VIDEO
Winner: London Maternity and Midwifery Leadership Trailblazer Award
Olukemi Akinmeji, Multi-Ethnic Empowerment Lead Midwife, Barking Havering and Redbridge University NHS Trust
Olukemi Akinmeji is a trailblazer in every sense of the word. Her dedication, innovation, holistic approach and passion for midwifery make her an exceptional role model and a deserving recipient of this award. She has made a tangible difference to the lives of so many, consistently going above and beyond to ensure the best outcomes and continues to inspire her colleagues to strive for excellence in maternity care.
Winner: London Maternity and Midwifery Education Trailblazer Award
Middlesex University Midwifery Team
Over the past year, the Middlesex Midwifery team has demonstrated unwavering leadership and dedication, serving as an anchor during a period of unprecedented challenges. Despite significant budget cuts and staff redundancies, their commitment to students, colleagues, and the profession has been nothing short of inspiring.
The team have consistently supported colleagues, ensuring that teamwork and morale remain strong. Their leadership embodies compassion, resilience, and excellence, qualities that make them truly deserving of national recognition. The past year has been a testament to their exceptional teamwork and dedication to midwifery education, and it would be fitting for their contributions to be celebrated amongst peers across the UK.
Winner: London Maternity and Midwifery Outstanding Contribution to Midwifery Trailblazer Award
Nicky Clark, Lead Midwife for Education, Senior Lecturer, University of Hull; Chair of the NMCLME Strategic Reference Group, SFHEA; Chief Midwifery Officer Gold Awardee 2020
Prof Jayne Marshall NTF, FRCM, PFHEA, PhD, MA, PGCEA, ADM, RM, RGN introduces Nicky Clark:
I have known Nicky Clark professionally for over 30 years in her capacity of midwife educator in the Higher Education sector and since 2014, as Chair of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Lead Midwife for Education (LME) Strategic Reference Group (LMESRG). The latter role has afforded Nicky with the opportunity to represent the LMEs on a number of national Midwifery Advisory Groups and Committees as well invitations to speak at conferences where she has ably projected the perspective of midwifery education – the voice of students and educators – to the debate.
Being one of Nicky’s contemporaries and having worked alongside her as early career academics, I am fully conversant of her passion and the extent of her expertise within midwifery education and practice. I have witnessed how Nicky has worked tirelessly in promoting and leading the midwifery profession, particularly through her role as Chair of the LMESRG. I believe that Nicky’s invaluable contribution to the midwifery profession throughout her academic career demonstrates how deserving she is of being awarded The Maternity and Midwifery Trailblazers Lifetime Achievement Award 2025. This would be most apt for Nicky to receive as she approaches her retirement.
If you would like to make an award nomination for your colleague or yourself, please use our online form here, and we will see you at the next festival event of the series: All-Ireland Maternity & Midwifery Festival 2025