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Stop, look, listen

28 August, 2024

3 minutes read

Understanding what works – and what doesn’t – is vital when we are trying to influence positive change in the workplace. And the best way to do that, says Northern Ireland National Officer Anne Wilson, is by going out and seeing it for yourself.

As an organisation, the RCM prides itself on being ‘by midwives and MSWs, for midwives and MSWs’. The majority of our staff are either midwives or MSWs themselves, and so have unparalleled insight into the working lives of our members. Even so, when you’re no longer working directly in practice day in day out, you can forget what it’s like to be in the thick of it. That’s why it’s so important to get out into workplaces, to spend time with members and hear about what matters to you.

A couple of weeks ago, the Northern Ireland team headed to Belfast Health and Social Care Trust to meet with staff there, both existing and prospective members. We organised the visit in partnership with the local branch, who were fantastically helpful. They sorted us out with a dedicated space, so we could run sessions throughout the day, allowing staff to pop in and see us as and when they were able.

It’s only when you see all the publications and products laid out in front of you that you realise just how much we produce – and how much information, guidance and support there is available for members. We had everything from our Neurodivergence Toolkit to our Standing Up for High Standards, plus information about i-learn and MIDIRS. They’re great pieces of work and it was great to see and hear members picking them up and saying how they could use them in their own practice.

Sitting down with the midwifery management team was also time well-spent. Every manager has spent time on the shopfloor themselves, and many of them are RCM members too, but it’s different when you’re making the decisions. We know that they’re getting pulled in several different directions at the same time, so we not only check in with them to make sure they’re OK, but also raise some of the issues that maybe they haven’t seen or hadn’t realised were causing problems. We talked about working conditions, challenges and concerns of the maternity unit staff. Keeping those lines of communications open is so important if we’re going to make a positive change.

Sometimes, though, it’s just walking the corridors where you get the most insight. We spoke to lots of midwives and MSWs just going about their business, picking up on the things that work well, but also those little niggles that are always there but never seem to get sorted out. Of course, we all know that often those little things are easily fixed, they just need to be brought to someone’s attention. And we also know that it’s often the little things that can make the most difference. We’ve come back with a to do list of these minor issues, and a list of areas for more detailed discussion with the senior team, and we will be reporting back to the local branch.

Spending the day at the unit was definitely time well-spent. It’s so important for us to hear about what’s working and what’s not, and supporting local branches to make a positive change. So often, that’s better done in partnership with the senior managers, and it’s great for us to be able to facilitate those relationships and help build that dialogue.

It’s also brought us back to the office with loads of ideas of how we can better support members in all sorts of different ways. We’re going to be building these days into our calendars, so if you want us to come and visit your service, just contact the RCM Northern Ireland office.

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