The country’s top midwife – Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent – had a special delivery for midwives, Alana Hunt and Delyse Maidman when she presented them with a Chief Midwifery Officer’s Silver Award this week.

Alana and Delyse are midwives in the Norfolk and Waveney Local Maternity and Neonatal System, a partnership of maternity and neonatal service providers, commissioners, local authorities, and maternity voices partnerships working together to transform local maternity services.

Alana scooped the prestigious national Chief Midwifery Officer’s Silver Award for her work on a project to ensure that pregnant women are supported by a midwife they know throughout their pregnancy, birth and after. A project called midwifery continuity of carer, which has been rolled out to 83% of the pregnant population at the James Paget Hospital. And 100% of those women said they felt supported with their birth choices. It is planned to reach 100% rollout this year, to become the default model of care for all pregnant women in that area.

Alana, who lives in Lowestoft, said: “It is such an honour to receive this award for implementation of the midwifery continuity of carer model which has demonstrated incredible improvements in maternity care in this area. I am extremely proud to work alongside amazing teams at the trust and the LMNS who are passionate about ensuring our families receive the best care possible, and who have made this happen. Improving safety and quality in maternity care is our ultimate goal, and seeing it happen is a complete privilege.”

Delyse, our lead digital midwife was recognised for her work on using technology to provide a better maternity experience for women and their families.

Delyse, from Wymondham, said: Delivering digital transformations across maternity services is a wonderful role and I am honoured to receive such a privileged award for something that I enjoy doing.”

The Chief Midwifery Officer (CMidO) Awards have been developed to reward the significant and outstanding contribution made by nurses and midwives in England and their exceptional contribution to nursing and midwifery practice.

The silver award recognises performance that goes above and beyond the expectations of the everyday role that the nurse or midwife is expected to perform in their current role.

Tricia D’Orsi, Executive Director of Nursing at NHS Norfolk and Waveney said: “Alana and Delyse are shining examples of what makes midwifery so special. It’s been such a busy time and they have gone above and beyond to support our maternity services across Norfolk and Waveney and introduce ways of working that improve safety for local families.”