Fetal Wellbeing Lead Midwife
Job summary
The Fetal Wellbeing Practice Development Midwife is a key role within County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust Maternity Services, responsible for ensuring that all staff providing antepartum and intrapartum care are competent, confident, and skilled in fetal monitoring practice.
The post holder will provide expert clinical leadership, education, and support to promote excellence in fetal surveillance and contribute to the delivery of safe, high-quality maternity care. The role focuses on embedding learning into clinical practice through workplace-based education, coaching, and support for the multidisciplinary team across all maternity settings.
Working alongside staff in the clinical environment, the post holder will enhance knowledge, build confidence in the interpretation of fetal monitoring, and support effective clinical decision-making to improve outcomes for women and babies.
Working collaboratively with senior clinical leaders, practice development teams, and patient safety and governance colleagues, the post holder will ensure that the knowledge and skills gained through fetal monitoring education programmes and competency frameworks are consistently translated into everyday practice.
Through ongoing assessment, support, audit and quality improvement activities, the role will help foster a culture of continuous learning, accountability, and improvement.
Main duties of the job
The Fetal Monitoring Practice Development Midwife will provide expert clinical leadership, education and support to ensure all staff undertaking antepartum and intrapartum fetal monitoring are competent, confident, and able to deliver safe, evidence-based care. The post holder will work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams across all maternity settings to embed best practice in fetal surveillance, interpretation, and escalation.
The role will focus on workplace-based learning, coaching and competency assessment, supporting staff to translate knowledge gained through formal training into everyday clinical practice. This will include facilitating teaching sessions, delivering bedside support, promoting reflective learning, and providing targeted development where learning needs are identified.
Working closely with senior clinical leaders, practice development teams, patient safety and governance colleagues, the post holder will contribute to the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of fetal monitoring standards, competency frameworks, and quality improvement initiatives.
The role will promote compliance with national guidance, including Elements 3 and 4 of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle (Version 3), and support the consistent application of risk assessment, fetal monitoring, and timely clinical escalation.
About us
If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager. You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks. We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham.
We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes. We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented.
Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts
