Job summary

The Antenatal Screening Team at Wexham Park Hospital is pleased to announce a brand-new job opportunity!

The Close Relative Marriage Midwife will proactively work with women to encourage a greater level of genetic testing/awareness /literacy among families where consanguineous related genetic disorders are present and improve access to genetic services for families thereby enable informed reproductive decision-making in the future.

This post is a fixed-term position for 2 years, for 15 hours per week spread over 2 days a week. The post can be carried out in combination with another midwife role within the hospital.

Main duties of the job

• The Close Relative Marriage Midwife will proactively work with women to encourage a greater level of genetic testing/awareness /literacy among families where consanguineous related genetic disorders are present and improve access to genetic services for families thereby enable informed reproductive decision-making.
• Ensure that provision of genetic information is available to all women practising close relative marriage with a family history of a genetic disorder to enable empowered and timely decision making.
• Ensure timely referrals to the genetic service to ensure women have opportunity to understand their risks and the options available to them in a pregnancy.
• Empower women to make informed choices in a culturally sensitive way.
• Initiate sensitive, appropriate conversations with families affected with autosomal recessive disorders linked to close relative marriage.
• Establish the role within the midwifery team and be a point of contact and/or referral for other midwives.
• Ensure a common understanding of genetic risk.
• Promote the use of standardised resources and materials.
• Support the development of joint ways of working across maternity, clinical genetics, health visiting and general practice.
• Ensure learning is shared with the maternity team.

About us

I am Emma Luhr Director of Midwifery at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, and we are looking for enthusiastic and highly motivated individuals like yourself, to join our fantastic and supportive expanding team of Midwives at both our hospital and community at Frimley Park.

Frimley Health is a great place to work and progress your career in the Midwifery profession. We are the 4th largest trust to deliver maternity services in England, with a dedicated Head of Midwifery at both sites, a team of Matrons and Practice Development team to not only support you, but enable our Midwives, Support Workers to deliver high quality care to all our women and progress the National Maternity Transformation Agenda.

Job description

Job responsibilities

• This role aims to improve access to the provision of a culturally competent genetic service for consanguineous families at increased risk of autosomal recessive genetic disorders.
• Ensure provision of culturally competent genetic service for consanguineous families includes pre-pregnancy, antenatal and postnatal care for families that are practicing close relative marriage and are at increased risk of having a child with a genetic disorder due to a family history of a genetic condition(s).
• Improving understanding about genetic inheritance can empower affected families and reduce unexpected, affected births. The Close Relative Marriage Midwife with support from the Oxford genetics service and other health and care professionals will facilitate this improvement.
• The Close Relative Marriage Midwife will be part of the wider antenatal screening team at Wexham Park Hospital who are responsible for ensuring all women booked for maternity care and babies born at Wexham Park complete the national antenatal and newborn screening tests. The team support women through the fetal anomaly screening programme and have close links with the tertiary fetal medicine and genetic services at Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital.
• The Midwife will have access to a network of other Close Relative Marriage Midwives in other high need areas in England.
• The midwife will be a champion for families at increased risk of genetic disorders due to close relative marriage and a resource/point of contact for midwives, obstetricians and other members of the maternity team.
• The Midwife will develop an understanding of the issues and research evidence on the subject matter.
• Improve access to genetic services by improving local pathways for women at increased risk of genetic disorders due to close relative marriage.
• Improve outcomes for women at increased risk due to their family history.

Person Specification

Qualifications/ Training

Essential

• Registered Midwife

Experience

Essential

• Project management/change management training

Skills & Knowledge

Essential

• Communication skills

Special

Desirable

• Fluent in Urdu

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

151-EK-26