Region’s first Legacy Midwife named Midwife of the Year
International Day of the Midwife is celebrated annually on 5 May, providing the opportunity to honour the work of midwives, and promote awareness of the crucial care that they, maternity support workers and student midwives provide.
This year we are celebrating a Midwife with almost 40 years NHS experience, who has been recognised as Midwife of the Year by East of England Maternity Services.
Jenny Crane, from Wakering, has received the award a year after starting a completely new role as Legacy Midwife for Southend Hospital, part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.
It means she is now supervising, supporting and handing over her career insights to students and midwives, providing an opportunity to transfer skills and expertise to others and inspire the next generation of midwives, which helps improve patient care and experience.
Jenny said: “This award is made even more special as I was the first Legacy Midwife in the East of England, so being recognised for the value and expertise that I bring to the next generation of Midwives is fantastic.
“It was a huge shock to learn of my win, but the real honour has been knowing that I’ve made a huge positive difference in the lives of student midwives and newly qualified midwives, which helps improve the care we give to patients, which is reward enough in itself.”
Jenny had originally retired from nursing in 2021, but loved the profession and job so much that she wanted to play an active part in helping new and future midwives, whether that be students training, those who have just qualified or international midwives; passing on her years of experience and knowledge.
Currently there are around 20 people Jenny helps mentor, with another Legacy Midwife covering Basildon and Broomfield hospitals. Their work is now helping to have a direct impact on improving job satisfaction, staff retention and care of patients, which is their real legacy.