North West scoops awards for outstanding work in supporting nursing and midwifery

Congratulations to the Maternity Team at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust and Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust who both won awards at the recently held annual Nursing Times Workforce Awards. The awards took place on Tuesday 21 November at the Hilton London Metropole. They recognise and reward the excellent work being done by employers to support the nursing and midwifery workforce.

Liverpool Women’s Maternity Team Won the Preceptorship Programme of the Year award. The team’s preceptorship programme is now in its third year and has achieved a 98 percent staff retention rate, providing support and development to newly qualified midwives. The positive feedback received from the Trust’s Newly Qualified Midwives was also part of the award entry.

Alison Murray, the Trust’s Deputy Head of Midwifery, said, “We are absolutely thrilled with this award which acknowledges the multidisciplinary team approach within our Maternity service and for making the vision we had for midwifery preceptorship come to life. We are proud that we have a team of leaders who are supporting and inspiring the next generation of newly qualified midwives at Liverpool Women’s and for the benefit of the wider NHS in the future.”

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust won the Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff award. The trust was recognised for efforts in embedding a nursing career pathway from entry level, to nursing associate, to registered nurse then to advanced practice. This means nursing staff can grow and develop at the Trust which is also able to retain a highly-skilled nursing workforce.

Julie Anne Murray, Interim Chief Nurse and Quality Officer at the Trust, said, “I am thrilled that we have won the ‘Best UK Employer of the Year for Nursing Staff’ in this year’s Nursing Times Workforce Awards. We have undertaken huge amounts of work in the past few years to make our trust the best possible place for our nurses – and all of our colleagues – to work.”

This year’s Nursing Times Workforce Awards included 17 categories under five themes: leadership, learning and development, organisational, recruitment and retention.