Delivering miracles during the pandemic

Today (Tuesday) is ‘International Day Of The Midwife’ and NHS Western Isles would like to take this opportunity to celebrate and thank our midwives across the Isles, and how they continue to bring new life into the world in a time of crisis.

2020 has been designated by the World Health Organization as the first ever International Year of the Nurse and Midwife; it is also Florence Nightingale’s bicentennial year. International Nurses Day will be held on May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth; with International Day Of The Midwife 2020 taking place today.

Nurses and midwives make up the largest numbers of the NHS workforce. They are highly skilled, multi-faceted professionals from a host of backgrounds that represent our diverse communities. The Year of the Nurse and Midwife presents the opportunity to reflect on these roles and skills, the commitment and expert clinical care they bring, and the impact they make on the lives of so many. This year is also an opportunity to say thank you to the professions; to showcase their diverse talents and expertise; and to promote careers in nursing and midwifery.

NHS Western Isles Nurse and AHP Director/Chief Operating Officer, William Findlay (pictured), said: “All our midwives work hard on a daily basis to ensure mothers, their babies and the wider family circle receive the high quality care that they deserve. Midwifery is one of the services that has had to continue, despite the pandemic, as babies tend not to wait – they come when they are ready. Our midwives across the Western Isles continue to do a very special job and contribute to a time of great joy as they welcome babies into our communities. Their care, attention and compassion is unfaltering, and all the more important during such difficult times.”

He added: “Acknowledging a special day like today could not be more important and relevant than it is now, during a time of such challenge. In the midst of this pandemic, midwives have risen to the challenge and have continued to provide vital services to local women and babies. They, like others, have had to work in new, challenging and very different ways – but they have embraced the challenge. We are proud of each and every one of them and we know that our midwives hold a very special place in their hearts of so many Western Isles families. We thank them for their invaluable contribution over the years, today and into the future.”