This in from the IW NHS in their own words. Ed
Six midwives, who have delivered hundreds of thousands of babies between them, are retiring from the Isle of Wight NHS Trust. In total, they have amassed an incredible 217 years of working within the NHS and are estimated to have seen the delivery of approximately 200,000 babies.
Several generations of families will have been cared for by the midwives and speciality roles, all of whom will be greatly missed by the service, their colleagues and families on the Isle of Wight. A special retirement event was held for the women at the Maternity Department at the end of March.
The retiring midwives are:
- Monika Driscoll-Abbasi, Integrated Midwife, who has completed 25 years’ service
- Sally Bailey, Midwife Sonographer, who has completed 34 years’ service
- Rowena Bennett, Integrated Midwife, who has completed 41 years’ service
- Joyce Brooks, Integrated Midwife, who has completed 37 years’ service
- Carole Hewison, Team Lead in Community, who has completed 40 years’ service
- Pamela George, Sister/Speciality Manager, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, who has completed 40 years’ service
Trust Chief Executive Karen Baker said:
“It’s wonderful! 200 years of midwifery experience, think about how many babies they have delivered over that time and how they’ve contributed to the Island. It’s absolutely fantastic. I always feel a tinge of sadness when people are going but I think for these ladies, they’ve left behind a massive legacy and I think they should be really proud of what they’ve done. I wish them all the best in their retirement, I know that they will miss their work; having been a midwife myself I certainly at times miss that clinical contact with women and their families. It’s such a privilege to be there at the birth of a baby and I know that we’ll miss them.”
Annie Hunter, Head of Midwifery and General Manager, said:
“All of us have worked together for a long time, and all of us have happy memories with each of these colleagues. And the families, they’ve seen them come back again, the next generation and even the next generation. So they will really leave their stamp on the Isle of Wight community.”
Recruitment underway
The Trust would like to reassure future parents and families that more midwives are being recruited to the posts being vacated.
Annie Hunter said that the Island is fortunate in not experiencing a shortage of trained midwives:
“On a positive note, we are recruiting and we will be replacing all of these individuals – we can’t replace them as people, but we do want to invest in the future of maternity services and recruit midwives who want to work and live on the Island.”
Facebook comments
There were some lovely comments left by mothers on our Facebook posting, so we thought we’d add here
