A midwife employed by Medway NHS Foundation Trust has scooped a national award for improving maternity care for people with learning disabilities.
Sarah-Jayne Ambler, Clinical Research Manager in Midwifery, won the Excellence in Midwifery for Research category in the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) annual awards which were held in London on Friday 19 May.
Sarah-Jayne and her colleagues undertook a trial project to improve the experiences and outcomes for people with learning disabilities using the Trust’s maternity services. The trial showed that not only was more research needed to further improve care, but also brought about immediate and positive changes in care for pregnant people. These included better identification of those with learning disabilities early in their pregnancy and improved staff training.
The team, led by Sarah-Jayne, is now setting out on a bigger research project to find out about the maternity experiences of people with learning disabilities. Right from the off the project involved those with learning disabilities and experience of maternity care, ensuring their voices were heard so that services could be designed to support them better. Once the research project is complete, Sarah-Jayne and the team will use the findings to refine and continue improving the Trust’s maternity services for people with learning disabilities.
