Medway midwives scoop top prize at London maternity awards

Date: 15 February 2018

maternity award for web final

Two members of Medway NHS Foundation Trust’s maternity team were crowned winners of the ‘Midwifery Innovation Award’ at the inaugural Maternity and Midwifery Festival Awards in London on Tuesday (13 February 2018).

Midwives Lyndsay Walker, 30, and Sonya Hinchey, 46, known as ‘Team Maia’, were praised by judges for ‘’recognising the need for and the implementation of a dedicated induction of labour team to provide bespoke care and drive forward positive change’’.

Lyndsay and Sonya, who are based at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, provide specialist care to women prior to childbirth. This ranges from booking inductions and scans, sharing crucial patient information documentation, and providing a direct line of communication for pregnant women.  

After claiming the prize, Lyndsay, a Medway employee since 2011, said:

‘’It is a massive shock, but we are so happy to win the award because we put our heart and soul into our work and we love it. We are really proud and it means so much to us to be recognised - it feels incredible.’’

Sonya, who joined the Trust in 2009, said:

‘’This has come very out of the blue and we even didn’t know anything about the nomination until just a few days ago. Luckily we were not asked to give a speech as we didn’t have anything prepared!’’

Lyndsay and Sonya’s team is named after the Greek translation of the word midwife, ‘maia’, and was setup in March 2017 with the help of Trust consultants, as part of an overall effort to improve the quality of inductions of labour at the hospital.   

Elsewhere at the awards show on Tuesday, fellow Medway employee Trude McLaren, a senior sister in The Birth Place, was highly commended in the ‘Midwifery Management Award’ category, with judges praising her ‘’outstanding commitment to her team and the women they care for.’’

 

  • Summary:

    Two members of Medway NHS Foundation Trust’s maternity team were crowned winners of the ‘Midwifery Innovation Award’ at the inaugural Maternity and Midwifery Festival Awards in London on Tuesday 13 February 2018.