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Midwives celebrated at our annual awards

Three midwives have been recognised for their outstanding work as part of the annual midwifery awards at West Suffolk Hospital.

The annual awards were held at the end of last month in memory of Hannah Seeley, an exemplary midwife who worked at West Suffolk Hospital and tragically passed away in a road traffic accident in 2012.

Midwives were invited to bring their families along to share their achievements. Colleagues nominated each other to recognise excellence in three inspirational award categories and were chosen based on the number of nominations they received.

The awards, which have been running since 2013, include three categories:

  • Midwife of the year
  • Support worker of the year
  • Student midwife of the year.

The winner of midwife of the year was awarded to Cathy Adkins, who has worked at the Trust since 2015, for her ‘extremely kind and welcoming’ approach, not only to patients but also to fellow staff and student midwives. One of her colleagues said: “Cathy is a real advocate for women’s choice and informed decision making and she supports women in a non-judgemental and kind manner.”

On winning her award, Cathy said: “It was such a wonderful surprise to have been awarded the Hannah Seeley Midwife of the Year award. I feel so honoured to have my name on the plaque with the amazing midwives who have received it before me.”

Sam Douglass, who joined the Trust in 2016, picked up the support worker of the year award. Her colleagues describe her as ‘never passing anybody without a smile and a hello.’

Finally, the student midwife of the year award was taken home by Katy Edgar, who is in her third year of her placement, for ‘always going above and beyond’ and because she makes lovely cakes!

Karen Newbury, head of midwifery, said: “We have had a challenging year, but our amazing maternity staff have pulled together as they always do and continued to make us so proud. We received many strong nominations, and the fact almost 2,000 sets of parents have chosen to have their baby here so far in 2019 is a fitting testament to our inspirational staff.

“Cathy, Sam and Katy are three colleagues that truly go above and beyond, so they thoroughly deserve their respective awards. I want to personally thank them for everything they do - their hard work is second to none.

“I would also like to thank Hannah Seeley’s family, who have yet again supported these awards – Hannah was a caring and compassionate midwife who we will always remember with such fondness.”

In the past year, WSFT’s labour suite has been refurbished to a high standard, introducing new en-suite facilities, to ensure a welcoming and modern environment for both parents and staff. The Trust’s maternity service also holds the internationally recognised Baby Friendly Award, founded by Unicef (United Nations Children’s Fund) and the WHO (World Health Organisation).

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(Left to right) Sam Douglass, Cathy Adkins and Katy Edgar, winners of the annual midwifery awards at our Trust.

(Left to right) Sam Douglass, Cathy Adkins and Katy Edgar, winners of the annual midwifery awards at our Trust.