Midwife crowned Hospital Health Star in ITV awards
A midwife at Epsom and St Helier hospitals was crowned the winner of the Good Morning Britain’s Hospital Health Star Award earlier this week – while she was live on TV with presenters Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid!
Lydia Baker, a Bereavement Midwife at St Helier Hospital, goes above and beyond the call of duty to support parents following a miscarriage, stillbirth or death of a child and provides specialist care to those who are pregnant again following their loss. She was nominated for the awards by a mum who she cared for, and was announced as the winner on Wednesday (19 April) while in the Good Morning Britain studio.
Lydia has worked at St Helier for 14 years and qualified as a midwife 11 years ago. After showing an interest in supporting bereaved parents during her day-to-day role, Lydia proved that the hospitals could benefit from the appointment of a dedicated bereavement midwife. Now, just two years after launching the service, Lydia has made such an impression in the new role that she’s won a prestigious national award.
Lydia said: “Lydia said: “It’s been amazing to have this recognition and I’m so grateful. I love my job, and this role means everything to me. Although I will cherish this award forever, this has never been about me, it’s all about giving these women and their families support in their darkest moments.
“I work with so many amazing people and I couldn’t do this job without their ongoing support and guidance. I’m completely overwhelmed and blown away by all of the supportive messages I’ve received.”
Charlotte Hall, Chief Nurse (and a qualified midwife) said: “We are all so proud of Lydia – she is a very special midwife, and this award is well deserved. She does an amazing job, and we are all thrilled to see her get such fantastic recognition for a job well done. I would also like to thank all of Lydia’s colleagues and managers too – they have been key in supporting Lydia as this service launched. I am proud to work with them all.
“We often say that nurses and midwives are the backbone of the NHS, and so I can only imagine that Lydia was against some strong competition in this category – she has done really well.”
For more information about the Trust’s maternity services, visit www.epsom-sthelier.nhs.uk/maternity-services.
