Fiona Bradley, Senior Professional Officer
Maternity Support Workers Programme Review
Welcome to this webpage which provides an overview of the project carried out by NIPEC to:
- Review the existing Maternity Support Workers education programme and
- Develop regionally agreed standards for the Maternity Support Worker role with additional resources to support their practice.
This project was successfully achieved through strong effective engagement and collaboration of key stakeholders including representatives from the Department of Health, HSC Trusts, Public Health Agency, Human Resources, education provider organisations, Vocational Workforce Assessment Centre (SHSCT), professional bodies, staff side organisations, Maternity Support Workers and people who use HSC services.
NIPEC achieved the project objectives within a 14-month period to include the following outputs which can be accessed below:
- MSW Standards;
- MSW Core Skills and Competencies;
- Revised MSW education programme including an MSW Training and Competency Booklet;
- MSW Induction and Development Pathway
This work identified the important role that MSWs play within maternity services in supporting midwives to deliver high quality woman centred care. The newly developed MSW Standards will provide clarity on the role and responsibilities of the Maternity Support Worker and provide assurances that they are working to an agreed standard with the remaining project outputs providing direction to the reform and modernisation of the MSW workforce into the future.
View the Final Project Report with recommendations.
Phase Two of this work has commenced to seek a new sustainable model to support the delivery of the MSW education programme into the future.