Jenny received her award in recognition of her exemplary work as a Maternity Health Advisor supporting women and families across Newcastle, and for being “one of those stars that stood out from the crowd.”
Dr Tracey Cooper MBE, Regional Chief Midwife for the North East and Yorkshire presented Jenny with her award during a visit to the Royal Victoria Infirmary on International Day of the Midwife (Friday 5 May).
The CMO Awards recognise exceptional contributions made by individual midwives and maternity support workers. Nominations must meet specific criteria and are reviewed and approved by senior colleagues at NHS England so it is a great honour to receive one.
Described as highly motivated, caring and compassionate by everyone who works with her, Jenny’s daily dedication, kindness and expertise are said to have made a hugely positive impact on staff, service users, their families and friends.
After working as a Maternity Support Worker both in the community and in hospital in Newcastle for over 13 years Jenny commenced an apprenticeship working towards providing Level 3 care and now supports Public Health Prevention in Maternity in the role of Maternity health advisor, with a focus on supporting women and their families to stop smoking and remain smokefree following the birth of their babies. This work is part of aligning local practice to the NHS Long Term Plan in bringing tobacco dependency services in-house as we strive to work towards a Smokefree 2030.
Jenny began her Maternity health advisor role as a 12 month secondment in October 2022 which colleagues says she has wholly embraced, committed to constantly improving her knowledge in all areas of public health to benefit her patients and their families. Dealing with addiction requires specialist training and Jenny says her proudest moment so far has been when her first lady successfully completed the 12 week stop smoking program and was discharged.
Claire Lisle, Lead Midwife for Public Health at Newcastle Hospitals who nominated Jenny for her award explains: “Jenny has developed a wealth of invaluable knowledge and skills over the years and is an exemplar for actively pursuing new knowledge and skillsets which she then uses to help maternity service users and their families, and to offer support to her colleagues – this not only helps her to build her own confidence but instils confidence in her colleagues. I’m delighted she has received this national recognition for her fantastic achievements so far.”
Lucy Patterson, Midwifery Matron adds: “Jenny is highly regarded by colleagues for her non-judgemental approach to those she cares for as she supports women and their households to quit smoking, providing a safe and smokefree environment for their baby. She is flexible in her approach, happy to visit families in their own home, as well as enabling them to drop-in when having a scan or whilst at a local community hub. She also makes herself available to colleagues, encouraging them in their own practice towards supporting women and their families to stop smoking.
“Jenny has had a lot of positive feedback from many members of staff, always saying how knowledgeable she is, and how she is always approachable and happy to help”, continues Claire. “Service users have also commented positively about the outstanding support Jenny has given them in supporting them to stop smoking and one particular service user commented on the service Jenny provides being “great.”
Jenny’s positive impact within the service is not only clearly demonstrated in this feedback but also by the families themselves who have successfully quit smoking and remain smoke-free due to her commitment working them to create safe environments for their children and reduce the risks associated with smoking.
“Maternity support workers are the backbone to maternity care supporting not only the whole team but most of all supporting the women and families helping to them to be the best they can be on their child birthing journey,” said Dr Cooper.
A credit to our Maternity Family
“Jenny is a credit to not only the organisation but to the NHS and to our maternity family, and we appreciate all that she does. Her courage and perseverance is limitless to supporting women, family and their friends having an impact on whoever she has contact with during those visits, making babies as well as children achieve the best potential by providing smokefree homes.
The CMidO Awards process is really tough and only those applications that stand out from the crowd get to receive the accolade of wearing the CMidO Award. Jenny is certainly one of those stars that stood out. Well done Jenny.
Dr Tracey Cooper MBE, Regional Chief Midwife for the North East and Yorkshire
Of Jenny’s nomination and award, Director of Midwifery at Newcastle Hospitals Jane Anderson said “Jenny is a wonderful member of the maternity team, bringing kindness and compassion to her work, advocating always not only for the women and families in her care, but also for her colleagues around her. Whatever role Jenny finds herself in, her dedication and high levels of commitment make a real difference to those in her care.
“The outstanding results which Jenny has achieved are testament to her hard work and determination. Jenny is inspirational and an integral part of the maternity team. I am delighted and proud that Jenny has been honoured with the prestigious Chief Midwifery Officer Award.
“A fantastic achievement, well done Jenny, you are a credit to Newcastle Hospitals.”
Kristina Simpson, Senior Nurse for Healthcare Support Worker Development continued: “It’s great to see Jenny awarded with such a prestigious award in recognition of her life changing work.
“Our HCSW staff touch people’s lives and make huge impacts everyday across the trust, which due to the humble approach of HCSWs like Jenny of “just doing my job” often isn’t celebrated widely enough. These awards are the way to shine a light on staff like Jenny going above and beyond every day, and a great way to make them feel valued and recognised.
“A huge well done Jenny – you should be very proud.”
CNO/CMidO Healthcare Support Workers (HCSWs) and Maternity Support Workers (MSWs) awards
These awards are based on demonstration of the NHS values:
- Working together for patients – those who consistently demonstrate the values of the NHS in supporting their HCSWs, MSWs, nurse, midwifery, and medical colleagues, to deliver the highest possible patient care.
- Respect and dignity – those who exemplify the importance of patient respect and dignity in all that they do.
- Commitment to quality of care – those who contribute to the development of services for patients resulting in improvement of service provision.
- Compassion – those who provide consistently outstanding care to patients and to colleagues, which is recognised by patients, service users and colleagues alike.
- Improving lives – recognising those who impact the lives not just of their patients but also to their patient’s loved ones. This is for HCSWs and MSWs that consistently demonstrate the NHS values to build good relationships with patients and their networks to provide outstanding patient care in their clinical setting.
- Everyone counts – those who champion equality, diversity, and inclusion in everything that they do, both in clinical practice and with their colleagues
Nominating colleagues
Healthcare support workers and maternity support workers are at the heart of clinical settings and local communities up and down the country, making a real difference every day to the lives of patients they care for and the nursing and midwifery colleagues they support.
Both are integral to our workforce and deserve recognition and celebration for all that they do. We want to recognise our support workforce and the vital role they play.
If you have a colleague you would like to nominate for an award, you can find out more about the nomination criteria, eligibility and how to nominate on the NHS England website.
