An NHS Highland midwife has been nominated for midwife of the year at a prestigious conference.
Frances Arrowsmith, midwifery team leader in Sutherland, has been nominated in this year’s MaMa awards which will be presented at the conference in Glasgow in May this year.
The MaMa Conference is the largest independent annual midwifery and maternity conference in the UK, bringing delegates from all parts of the country as well as international audience to Scotland for two days.
Frances has been a midwife for 27 years and, while thrilled to be nominated, insists she is just happy doing a job she loves.
She said: “Nominations are made by your peers. I am delighted to be nominated and it is lovely to know that you are well thought of. I love my job but I wouldn’t be able to do this without the support of the team around me.
“As a team we are always looking at new ways to find out what local women want, their needs and how we can support them. We work well together.”
Mary Burnside, lead midwife for the North and West, said: ‘Frances is an exemplary role model for the midwifery profession and a passionate advocate for the women she cares for.
“She fosters collaborative working between midwives, health visitors and primary care colleagues with the aim of providing the majority of a woman’s maternity care, close to home.
“She always goes the extra mile to ensure women are supported in their birth choices, which at times can be challenging due to the remote and rural geography of Sutherland. Frances is hard working, dedicated and so deserving of this nomination.”