Cushendall midwife wins national award

A midwife from Cushendall has won one of the UK’s top midwifery awards for her leadership project
Gill Walton, RCM Chief Executive and General Secretary, Kathryn Gutteridge, RCM President, Birte Harlav lam, RCM Executive Director for Professional Leadership,  Brigid, and Alex Jones, presenter of BBC's The One Show and the Event Host.Gill Walton, RCM Chief Executive and General Secretary, Kathryn Gutteridge, RCM President, Birte Harlav lam, RCM Executive Director for Professional Leadership,  Brigid, and Alex Jones, presenter of BBC's The One Show and the Event Host.
Gill Walton, RCM Chief Executive and General Secretary, Kathryn Gutteridge, RCM President, Birte Harlav lam, RCM Executive Director for Professional Leadership, Brigid, and Alex Jones, presenter of BBC's The One Show and the Event Host.

Brigid McKeown – a Lead Midwife at Northern Health and Social Care Trust - scooped the RCM Leadership Award at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Annual Awards in London.

Brigid, known locally as Bid, was recognised for designing and implementing an innovative Succession Planning Programme, which helps midwives to develop their ability to be future leaders by ensuring the knowledge of soon to retire experienced midwives is passed on to their less experienced colleagues.

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The programme Bid developed includes masterclasses, networking events and junior midwives shadowing senior colleagues. In total 24 midwives within the Northern Trust signed up for this programme, exceeding all expectations.

Other professions have also expressed interest in the scheme and Bid has shared her project with RCM colleagues, senior nurses, social workers and midwives in Northern Ireland, Glasgow and Cornwall.

Bid said: “I am really truly honoured to have been awarded this prestigious national award and would like to pay tribute to the midwives who participated in the programme. They are a fantastic group of dedicated and enthusiastic midwives and I am confident that the future will be safe in their hands.”

Caroline Diamond, Head of Midwifery said: “Bid has worked extremely hard to inspire and encourage midwives to strive and flourish as future leaders. Through the programme, she has equipped the midwives with the confidence to consider senior roles in Midwifery and the skills to innovate and drive improvement in Maternity services.”