SCW is celebrating International Day of the Midwife (#IDM2022) by acknowledging the unique and long-lasting work that midwives do. In our experience, working with highly skilled midwives is inspiring, innovative and impactful.  Here, we outline the recent work our own midwives, Melissa and Sophie, are delivering to demonstrate how they are using their midwifery skills and experience to digitalise, connect and transform maternity services to champion safe and effective care.

Our primary care colleagues have continued to ensure key childhood vaccinations are prioritised during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although many areas maintained high uptake rates for childhood vaccinations, there remain several ongoing challenges in delivering the childhood immunisation programme.

Could the issue of too many people with a learning disability dying earlier than they should, have been prevented with better or alternative treatment? The learning from deaths of people with a learning disability (LeDeR) programme reviews the reasons for deaths of people with a learning disability either physical or mental health. It looks at why people are dying and what can be done to change services locally and nationally to improve health outcomes for people with a learning disability and reduce health inequalities.

In March 2022, we held a live webinar panel session sponsored by Kings Fund exploring the latest on telemedicine and how it’s being used to redesign pathways. A staggering 1,448 people registered to watch, so if you missed it, this event will now be available on-demand.

Our new report provides a summary of findings and recommendations from an evidence and qualitative review conducted to understand constipation and its management in people with a learning disability and autistic people. 

Elspeth Griffiths, Director of People, shares her reflections on a recent physical injury and her surprise at how this impacted her mental health. She discusses how talking openly about a variety of topics including mental health in the workplace is an important aspect of SCW’s wellbeing and culture of belonging.

The Core20Plus Connectors programme has recently passed an important milestone, with the selection of the first 11 areas to receive funding and progress their local initiatives. We share the rapid process to design and launch the programme, with the vital contribution of people with lived experience of health inequalities and those who have been in similar ‘connector’ type roles. 

James Jackson, our EDI and Wellbeing Programme Manager, shares his lived experience of dealing with mental health and mental illness. He discusses his coping mechanisms and insights into how role modelling can help create a ‘safe space’ to talk openly about mental health.

Jade Smith, Programme Manager in our Strategy and Transformation team, explores her Asian Indian heritage and how the SCW Black and Minority Ethnic staff network helps to support her work and career. She shares insights as to how the strengths of members from diverse backgrounds contribute to supporting the customers that we work with.