SPOTLIGHT: MIDWIFE
Jacqueline Owusu-Ansah
A DAY’S WORK
ALL IN
Jacqueline Owusu-Ansah is a midwife and labour ward coordinator at Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea Hospital.
MY ALARM GOES OFF… at 05.00. My Christian faith is a big part of my life, so I usually say a prayer to help set the tone for the day. I get ready and grab a juice to drink during my journey to work. I leave my home in Borough at 06.20 and I arrive at the hospital by 07.10.
I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR… coordinating a team that includes midwives, student midwives and maternity support workers – making sure safe and effective practice occurs on the ward at all times. We have at least ten babies born a day, which keeps us busy!
I GOT MY JOB…
in February 2017. I qualified from City University London with a BSc in midwifery in 2010 and began my career at Croydon University Hospital. I joined the team at Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea in January 2014, and was named labour ward coordinator earlier this year.
MY TYPICAL DAY…
starts at 07.20. I check the controlled drugs and receive a handover from the night shift coordinator. I assign cases, review the staff rota and escalate any staff shortages to the matron on duty. The team and I plan for inductions of labour, elective caesarean sections and transfers. From 10.30, I check how women who are in labour are progressing. I monitor the babies’
18 /Pulse
heart rates, and liaise with the obstetric team when emergency deliveries are required. I work with our maternity support workers to check equipment and stock. I always make sure our team members take breaks. In the evening we discharge women to the postnatal ward, I catch up on emails and handover to the night shift team. I head home between 20.00 and 20.30. With that said, no two days are the same – when an emergency case comes in, we drop everything to care for the women who need us.
MY MOST MEMORABLE WORK MOMENT…
was becoming a Royal College of Midwives health and safety representative in March 2017 and meeting its chief executive Cathy Warwick. Also, signing the Caring for You campaign with the director of midwifery Scott Johnston, which highlights my
commitment to making a difference to the working conditions of midwives and maternity support workers.
THE HARDEST PART OF MY JOB… is when the maternity unit reaches full bed capacity and we go to red status – bed and staff shortages can be very stressful and need to be escalated.
THE BEST PART OF MY JOB… is seeing women through their whole birth journey, from the moment they go into labour to the moment they hold their baby for the first time.
OUTSIDE WORK YOU WILL FIND ME…
attending church services a few times a week, relaxing at home and spending time with my friends and family. I’m a London girl through and through, so I like to dine out and enjoy what the city has to offer.
www.imperial.nhs.uk
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