County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Job summary
Join
us in shaping a new Maternal Mental Health Service at County Durham and
Darlington NHS Foundation Trust. We are looking for an enthusiastic and
compassionate Specialist Midwife to play a key role in delivering our new NHS
England-funded Maternal Mental Health Service, supporting women and birthing
people experiencing birth trauma, perinatal loss, fear of childbirth and other
maternity-related psychological difficulties. Working within a
multidisciplinary team, you will provide expert assessment, care coordination
and trauma-informed support, while helping to develop pathways, educate
colleagues and improve access to specialist care. This is an exciting
opportunity to influence a brand-new service and make a lasting difference to
women, babies and families across County Durham and Darlington.
Main duties of the job
As
the Specialist Midwife for Maternal Mental Health, you will provide expert,
trauma-informed care and support for women and birthing people experiencing
mental health difficulties related to pregnancy and childbirth. You will
undertake specialist assessments, coordinate care across maternity, neonatal,
mental health and community services, and develop personalised care plans to
improve outcomes for women, babies and families. Working as part of a
multidisciplinary team, you will act as a key link between services, provide
advice and education to maternity staff, contribute to service development,
quality improvement and audit, and support the implementation of evidence-based
pathways. You will play a vital role in ensuring women receive compassionate,
coordinated and equitable care throughout the perinatal period.
Person Specification
Special Skills & Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of maternal mental health difficulties and their impact on women, babies and families.
- Knowledge of trauma-informed care and its application in maternity services.
- Knowledge of safeguarding processes for adults and babies.
- Understanding of the role of multidisciplinary working in supporting perinatal mental health.
- Knowledge of local and national guidance relating to maternal mental health and maternity services.
- Understanding of factors affecting access to and engagement with services.
- Ability to undertake holistic assessments and contribute to care planning for women with complex needs.
- Ability to communicate sensitively with women, families and professionals regarding complex or distressing issues.
- Ability to build therapeutic relationships and provide supportive interventions within scope of practice.
- Ability to work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team.
- Ability to coordinate care across services.
- Ability to provide advice and support to colleagues.
- Good organisational and time-management skills.
- Ability to maintain accurate clinical records.
- Competent IT skills including use of electronic records systems.
- Ability to work autonomously within scope of practice.
- Ability to manage competing demands and prioritise workload.
- Ability to work flexibly across clinical settings.
- Ability to maintain professional boundaries.
- Ability to manage emotionally challenging situations.
- Ability to recognise and escalate risk appropriately.
- Ability to contribute positively to team working and service development.
Desirable
- Knowledge of NHS England Maternal Mental Health Service guidance.
- Knowledge of parentinfant relationships and attachment.
- Knowledge of local care pathways and community support services.
- Awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion issues affecting access to care.
- Skills in delivering training or education to staff.
- Skills in supporting reflective practice or debrief discussions.
- Experience supporting psychologically informed or trauma-informed practice.
- Experience presenting information to groups.
- Ability to contribute to service improvement initiatives.
- Ability to support development of pathways and guidance.
- Ability to support staff wellbeing and psychologically safe environments.
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered Midwife with current NMC registration.
- Evidence of continuing professional development.
- Relevant post-registration training in perinatal or maternal mental health, trauma-informed care or safeguarding.
- Willingness to undertake further specialist training relevant to the Maternal Mental Health Service.
Desirable
- Additional qualifications or training in perinatal mental health, psychological trauma, bereavement care or infant mental health.
- Training in supporting women following birth trauma or perinatal loss.
- Teaching or mentorship qualification
Experience
Essential
- Experience working as a midwife across pregnancy and postnatal care.
- Experience supporting women with complex psychosocial or mental health needs in the perinatal period.
- Experience working within a multidisciplinary team.
- Experience contributing to care planning for women with additional needs.
- Experience liaising with other services and agencies to support women and families.
Desirable
- Experience working within a specialist maternal or perinatal mental health service.
- Experience supporting women experiencing birth trauma, tokophobia or perinatal loss.
- Experience delivering training or education to staff.
- Experience contributing to audit, service evaluation or quality improvement activity.
- Experience working with diverse communities and addressing health inequalities.
Statutory Registration
Essential
- UK NMC PIN
Special Requirements
Essential
- Commitment to compassionate and inclusive service delivery.
- Willingness to undertake training.
- Commitment to equality and diversity.
- Willingness to travel across sites if required.
- Flexible approach to working.
Closing Date: 12 August 2026
To apply for this job please visit www.jobs.nhs.uk.