A Spotlight On: Specialist Safeguarding Services
What are Maternity Specialist Safeguarding Services?
The award winning specialist midwifery teams named Best Beginnings and Indigo have a Young Persons team within each team and work across the three boroughs of Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham. These specialist teams support women needing mental health support, currently or in the past, domestic abuse, substance misuse and families who have social care support.
These teams offer an enhanced level of care to women and their families and support families through the changes of having a new baby, and can refer to external services when required.
Who’s who?
There is a specialist safeguarding midwife who covers all three hospitals within the Trust. The midwives work cross site but are based in separate hospitals and can be contacted via the details below:
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Tracey Phayer |
Named Midwife for Safeguarding for the Trust (cross site) |
T: 020 8853 3447 |
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Justine Gosline |
Specialist Midwife for Safeguarding UHL |
T: 0803 333 3000 ext 8818
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Emma Augustin |
Named Midwife for Safeguarding for Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary’s Hospital Sidcup |
T: 020 8836 6307
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Janine Martin |
Team Administrator |
On a day to day basis, our safeguarding midwives provide support, supervision and training to Maternity staff around working with vulnerable families.
Tracey Phayer is the Named Midwife for the Trust and is the Senior Operational lead for Maternity Safeguarding. Maternity Safeguarding services is supported by the specialist midwives Justine Gosling and Emma Augustin who cover all sites. On a day to day basis, our safeguarding midwives support, train maternity staff and give supervision to staff working with families where there are vulnerabilities.
Justine Gosling and Emma Augustin are the operational leads for Maternity Safeguarding. They chair a weekly multidisciplinary Maternity Safeguarding Meeting that discusses all families where risks have been identified. Plans are put in place to offer early help and support, such as referral to Children’s Centres, Targeted Family support, targeted Health Visiting or if needed referral to Children’s Social Care.
How can the Maternity Safeguarding team be contacted?
GPs can refer women to our specialist safeguarding services at any time. The GP referral form now included the Maternity Safeguarding Trigger List of Risks.
The easiest ways for GPs to contact the Maternity Safeguarding team is to email or call directly. The Maternity Safeguarding team is keen to improve communication between midwives and GPs and is happy to be contacted whenever a safeguarding risk with a pregnant women is identified or when it is thought that a woman may be pregnant and not accessing maternity care.