Midwives are responsible for helping each woman to make informed choices about her care. Sometimes this can lead to challenges for both women and midwives; in these situations a supervisor of midwives may be able to help.
A supervisor of midwives (SOM) is an experienced midwife who has undertaken additional training to enable her to perform this role. If you wish to discuss something, she can act as a resource and assist in any discussions, providing both support and sound professional advice. A supervisor of midwives is available 24 hours a day and can be contacted directly through the maternity bleep holder; call the hospital switchboard and ask for bleep 552 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for non urgent issues Supervision of midwives is a statutory requirement to ensure that women and their families receive standards of care appropriate to the expectations of today’s health service.
All supervisors of midwives are accountable to the Local Supervisory Authority (LSA) for the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for achieving certain standards. See ‘Support for Parents’ leaflet at www.midwife.org.uk for further information