A Spotlight On: Our Supervisor of Midwives

What is the Supervisor of Midwives (SOM) Role?

The role of a Supervisor of Midwives is to protect the public by supporting  midwives in their work and listening to women. Women are supported to make informed choices about their care and feel supported and secure during and after their pregnancy and birth.

Supervisors of Midwives work to improve the quality of care for women through various strategies:

  • They hold weekly clinics alternating across sites for women who would, for example, like a debrief in relation to their previous births and experiences; to help them understand events or who may be anxious about giving birth.
  • They also meet with women to make plans for their birth when they may wish to make choices that don’t fit with local guidance and work with the wider multidisciplinary team to promote safety and smooth communications.

As well as women being able to self-refer to this service, GPs can refer women to see a som by using a referral form available by e-mailing one of the contact SOMs as below.

  • SOMs have representation at many in-house meetings where learning from incidents, guidance and publications are discussed and help raise the voice of women and midwives within the service.
  • SOMs help run a popular online service – Edie the E-Midwife – that is available to answer non-urgent questions and offer support for both women and midwives.  Edie is available on Facebook, Twitter and as an email service
  • A member of the Supervisor of Midwives Team will be happy to attend GP practice meetings to discuss the care of pregnant women and how we can support their choices and plans whilst promoting normality.

The Supervisors of Midwives Team from Lewisham and Greenwich Trust recently won an award for ‘Excellence in Supervision’ at the London Local Supervisory Authority Conference at which they also presented about their commitment to listening to women and their families.


Who’s who?

There are currently 19 Supervisors of Midwives across the three sites of the Trust incorporating a full-time Supervisors of Midwives position that is shared between two SOMs, whose contact details can be found below.

 

Alison Eagle (Supervisor of Midwives)

E:alison.eagle@nhs.net
T: 07714780056

Pip Stalberg (Supervisor of Midwives)

E:pip.stalberg@nhs.net

 

How can the Supervisors of Midwives Team be contacted?

A Supervisor of Midwives is on call for professional advice relating to maternity care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling the switchboard at either hospital and asking for the Supervisor of Midwives on-call.
For University Hospital Lewisham:  0208 333 3000
For Queen Elizabeth Hospital: 0208 836 6000

Edie the E-midwife is available on:
Email: LG.e-midwife@nhs.net
Facebook: Edie E-Midwife
Twitter: @e_midwife

If you believe a woman in your care could benefit from meeting with a SOM, please contact us or encourage her to speak to her midwife.