Programme

Clare is a passionate midwife and academic. She currently works as a senior midwifery lecturer at Charles Darwin University in Australia and has a small independent midwifery practice providing continuity of midwifery care to all ‘risk’ women. Clare believes women have the right to choose where to give birth and who should attend them and that midwives should be supported to provide woman centred care to all women, even those who choose care outside of recommended guidelines.

I have a healthcare career spanning three decades of service within the NHS having initially trained as an adult nurse where I worked in Medicine, Surgery, Haematology, Neuro Intensive and Hospice Care, before becoming a midwife in 2001. I am passionate about the delivery of safe, compassionate woman-centred care, and  equally committed to improving the staff experience of delivering intelligent healthcare. I firmly believe that both the patient and staff experiences are intrinsically linked.

I was awarded a National PhD Fellowship in 2019 researching ‘The role of visual management tools for the coordination of teams in healthcare’ sponsored by The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute (THIS) which is directed by Professor Mary Dixon-Woods. My PhD is interdisciplinary and as such I am being supervised jointly by Dr Nicola Mackintosh Associate Professor in Social Science Applied to Health (SAPPHIRE), and Dr Nicola Bateman Associate Professor in Operations Management (School of Business). I am a member of the Q Community - A connected community working together to improve health and care quality across the UK and Ireland.

Francesca Spranzi is a Risk Management Midwife at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London. She has an academic background in Philosophy and Mathematical Logic and worked 15 years in the publishing industry before becoming a midwife. She has a passion for a safe, equitable and sustainable healthcare for all. Her belief in “Simple Solutions for Better Care” have led her to launch the patient safety initiative Midwife in a Van (www.miav.co.uk) to promote innovation in maternity and support her projects “From handover to Takeover” and “Simple Swabs: no more swabs left behind”.

My name is Antonio Sierra and I am a Consultant Midwife in the NHS. I commenced my career in healthcare in 2002. My clinical and research interests lie on promotions of physiological birth, advocacy and clinical education. I support the multidisciplinary team in clinical practice using the four pillars of consultancy: clinical and professional leadership; expert practice; service development; research and evaluation; and education and professional development. I lead on the implementation of Better Births, as well as VBAC and Birth Options clinics. My current research interests focus on addressing health disparities amongst the LGBTQ+ community during childbirth.

Judy More is a Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist specialising in children’s nutrition. She is a past chairman of the Paediatric Group of the British Dietetic Association. Her current interests are in public health and she works freelance from her company Child-nutrition.co.uk Ltd.  She is a consultant to several companies and has worked for the Department of Health. She also teaches, writes books and nutrition articles for professional and consumer publications, gives media interviews, and advises nurseries, schools and private patients.  She was an expert member on the Infant and Toddler Forum and authored most of their current resources.

Present Designation:
•Professor of Fetal Medicine and obstetrics
•Consultant in fetal medicine and obstetrics
•Clinical director, Medway Fetal and Maternal medicine centre, Medway NHs foundation trust in kent, UK

Present Affiliation:
•Medway nhs foundation trust
•INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, Canterbury Christ church university

Research & academics:
•More than 190 peer-reviewed scientific research publications
•Research interests include prevention of stillbirths; with particular interest in prediction and prevention of problems related to placental dysfunction

Patricia Parker OBE founded Kids for Kids in 2001 when she came across a 9-year old boy in the middle of the desert in Darfur on his 7-hour walk for water. Since then, Kids for Kids has been working tirelessly to introduce sustainable projects to 110 adopted villages in North Darfur, lifting families out of abject poverty. By working with the communities, installing water pumps, introducing goat & animal loans, building kindergartens, health & veterinary centres, and providing desperately needed items such as mosquito nets, jerry cans and farm tools, Kids for Kids has helped over 600,000 people for the long term.

Pip is a, practicing Midwifery Sister, MSc graduate, founder of Midwife Pip Podcast, Hypnobirth and Antenatal Educator, co- author of published research and a mum.

Pip is on a mission to ensure all expectant and new mums feel like superwoman during pregnancy and when they give birth. Pip believes passionately that with the right support, honest and evidence-based information all birth should be positive regardless of any twists and turns that may crop up. For this reason, Pip begun her Instagram page @midwife_pip followed by her online courses available at www.midwifepip.com.

Dr Anjali Westwood is an associate lecturer at York St John University in London. She has a PhD in Health Sciences and is passionate about maternal and child health education, promotion, and accessibility. Anjali is an entrepreneur and has co-founded a start-up called Maternia Care in India where they provide digital, at home and infrastructural support to couples during and after pregnancy. Anjali’s key research areas are service delivery systems, antenatal care, breastfeeding, and policy. Her TEDx talk “Could mindful motherhood be the answer to flourishing societies?” gathered interest from couples and health professionals alike.

Lucy is the lead TVN for Wye Valley NHS Trust which is a combined Acute and Community Trust in Herefordshire. Lucy is passionate about improving patient outcomes by raising standards and ensuring up to date evidenced based care is implemented. Her background is Intensive Care nursing and after nursing patients with large wounds and open abdomens she became really interested in wound management and healing which took her career into Tissue Viability. Lucy is also kept busy at home by her 3 children who are now 2, 3 and 5 years old and enjoys country life in rural Hereford.

As a registered nurse for over 20 years Jane has spent much of her career within the NHS. Latterly she worked as a tissue viability nurse within Leeds Community and currently as an Honorary Tissue Viability Nurse role at the Christie Hospital, Manchester. However, Jane's main role is the UK Clinical Education Manager for Essity. In this role Jane develops her passion for driving, evidence based, wound management education.