Safeguarding Midwife

The Safeguarding Midwife will provide specialist safeguarding advice, support, and leadership within maternity services to promote the safety and wellbeing of women, babies, and families. Working as part of the multidisciplinary safeguarding team, the post holder will support the identification, assessment, and management of safeguarding concerns in line with statutory requirements, national guidance, and local safeguarding arrangements.

The role involves supporting midwives and maternity staff in managing complex safeguarding situations, including child protection, domestic abuse, substance misuse, mental health vulnerabilities, and adult safeguarding. The Safeguarding Midwife will provide professional guidance, contribute to risk assessments and care planning, and support effective information sharing and escalation where required.

The post holder will contribute to the development and delivery of safeguarding education and training, support supervision and reflective practice, and participate in audit, quality improvement, and learning from incidents, reviews, and complaints. They will represent maternity services at relevant multi-agency meetings, case conferences, and strategy discussions, working collaboratively with internal and external partners to ensure coordinated, woman-centred care.

The post holder will work with the Named Midwife for Safeguarding to:

• Provide specialist support and advice on issues relating to the safeguarding of children.

Deliver education and training for all healthcare professionals working within maternity services who support vulnerable families.

Support the Specialty Group Line and maternity staff in fulfilling their statutory duty to safeguard and protect children from harm.

Contribute to the ongoing development and implementation of the safeguarding agenda within maternity services.

Act as a specialist resource for members of the multidisciplinary team, demonstrating appropriate knowledge, skills, and competence in the safeguarding role.

Take the operational midwifery lead for safeguarding children within maternity services.

Ensure safeguarding children policies, procedures, and guidelines are up to date and informed by current legislation, national guidance, and best evidence.

Support and contribute to quality improvement initiatives within maternity services as required.

Work collaboratively with the Perinatal Mental Health Lead to ensure safe, coordinated, and optimal care provision.

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity, and creating a culture that values differences.

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Emma Bell Job title: Lead safeguarding Midwife Email address: emma.bell@bedsft.nhs.uk