RCM Networks

This network is open to RCM members who are directors of midwifery or heads of midwifery in England.

Their objectives are to ensure that:

1. DOMS/HOMS are well informed about RCM initiatives, campaigns and priorities
2. the RCM's work is informed by the experience and expertise of DOMS/HOMS
3. RCM responds to the needs of DOMS/HOMS as RCM members
4. there is a forum for networking, peer support and information sharing for DOMS and HOMS across England, and that 
5. relevant contributions, presentations and discussions from those in the wider NHS and beyond are distributed to DOMS/HOMS

The DOMS/HOMS network meets four times a year – twice in London and twice in the north of England.

The network invites consultant midwives and lead midwife educators to join them to form a wider Leaders Forum twice a year.

There is also a closed Yahoo group for this network, so information can be shared between meetings. 

At one meeting each year, network members are encouraged to bring aspiring DOMS/HOMS along, as part of their own development.

The network is led by the RCM CEO Gill Walton and administered by Mandie Lockwood. Please contact Mandie for more information.

Calling all NQMs in Scotland! Would you like to join a network of influential newly qualified midwives from across Scotland?

This is exciting opportunity for NQMs (between 1-4yrs) to join our First Five Years Forum (FFYF), for a fixed two-year period. If you think you would like to join the FFYF you will need to be a current RCM member in Scotland.

For more information please read our information document here. 

Note your interest by Friday 3^rd January 2020 or for further information contact [email protected]

Main Contact: Angela Boyle, RCM Organiser.

The RCM’s Global Advisory Group provides strategic direction and advice to inform the RCM’s global work. Membership of the network is drawn from our members, our staff and other key players and organisations in the field of global maternal and newborn health, as well as international development. The network meets three times a year and is coordinated by the RCM’s Global Professional Advisor, Joy Kemp.

For more information about the network, visit the Global page or contact the Global Team for more information about the network.

The Lead Midwives Scotland Group is a long established network facilitated by the RCM in Scotland.

The network includes senior midwives across Scotland including all heads of midwifery, professors of midwifery, lead midwives for education, consultant midwives and senior midwives from national organisations including NHS Education for Scotland and the Scottish Government. The network also includes the Director of the RCM in Scotland and the two National Officers for the RCM.

The objectives of the network are to provide an opportunity, online and in person, for senior midwives to share information and good practice. The network also provides the opportunity for senior midwives to build relationships and support networks with each other.

The network also acts as a sounding board for many stakeholders wishing to disseminate information, seek opinions and boost engagement on a range of maternity issues. Occasionally the LMSG will develop specific shared work on a particular topic.

The LMSG generally meets quarterly with an additional think tank day once a year, when the LMSG is joined by RCM stewards to discuss and plan around a particular area of interest.

The membership of the network is determined by role. As someone takes on a new senior role, they are invited to join the LMSG.

Chair of the LMSG is currently Justine Craig, HOM in Tayside and Co-Chair is Geraldine Butcher, Consultant Midwife in Ayrshire and Arran.

The RCM’s key contact is Sharon Allison who provides the secretariat for the network.

For more information, please email Sharon Allison.

This network consists of elected RCM workplace representatives (stewards, health and safety representatives, learning representatives), branch officers (chairperson, secretary, treasurer) and MSW advocates.

Activists are elected by members of the RCM branch or workplace. The network is supported at UK, national, regional and branch levels by RCM staff, other activists and members.

The training of RCM activists is provided by the RCM. The development and delivery of training is the responsibility of the Activist Training Steering Group. Membership of this group includes an RCM Activist and a TUC representative.

For more information, visit our RCM Activists section.

More details on training and development can be obtained by emailing the workplace representatives team. RCM activists can also contact their regional/national officer or organiser for advice and support.

The RCM Board is responsible for the overall direction and control of the organisation. This includes ensuring that the RCM is efficient, effective, accountable, properly managed and supervised. The Board provides long-term vision, ensures clarity of purpose by stating our mission and setting strategic goals and objectives, and also protects the reputation and values of the RCM. It directs and supports its CEO in leading the RCM to the Board’s vision. The Board is guardian of the RCM’s assets and is responsible for ensuring that legal and regulatory requirements are met.

All members of the RCM Board are practising midwives who have been elected to the Board by members of the RCM. Maternity support workers are also eligible to apply for a position on the Board.

The Board meets regularly throughout each year and also conducts business electronically. Three members of the RCM Board are trustees of The Royal College of Midwives Trust and also serve on board committees. One member of the Board is a director of RCM Trust Trading Company Ltd.

The RCM Fellowship Scheme recognises individuals who provide exceptional leadership and deliver excellence in practice, education or research. RCM midwife members can apply to be considered for a fellowship and, if successful, can use their fellowship status to display their support for the RCM.

Becoming an RCM fellow is an opportunity for experienced midwives to showcase their expertise and promote the profession of midwifery. As an RCM fellow, midwives receive professional recognition which enhances their career prospects.

Fellows also have the opportunity to contribute to strategic working groups and influence national policy. The RCM encourages its fellows to present and share good practice at conferences and events and to engage with opinion leaders and policy makers.

Fellows can use FRCM after their name and join a network of FRCM alumni who are invited to the annual Zepherina Veitch Memorial Lecture as a VIP of the RCM, along with the Chief Executive, the Honorary Fellows and the RCM President.

The FRCM network aims to support and encourage sharing of knowledge, innovation and practice issues. There is an electronic networking group for FRCMs which enables them to share their expertise with their peers. Successful applicants also receive a certificate and a distinctive medal.

Please email the Fellowship team for further details or visit our RCM Fellows page. You can meet the current RCM Fellows here.

This is a new network for RCM members who are midwives working in perinatal mental health (PMH) or who have an interest in developing perinatal mental health services in their area.

During the summer of 2018 we invited applications for the 25 places and were impressed by the volume and high standard of applications. Successful candidates have now been informed and our first meeting was held in September 2018. The Terms of reference were agreed at this meeting. 

The aims and purpose of the network are:

1. to provide an informal leadership development opportunity for midwives in Scotland, enabling them to build a peer support and sharing network and have exposure, learning and updates on national and RCM work surrounding the future of PMH services for women and families

2. to provide the RCM Scotland team with a reference network to inform and share new resources and plan member engagement approaches

Midwives can join the network for a fixed two-year period, with a commitment to attend for three one-day meetings each year. The first meeting was in September 2018 and the next two subsequent meetings will be held on 5th December 2018 and 7th February 2019. The RCM will pay for reasonable travel expenses and overnight accommodation in Edinburgh for members who would need to travel for more than two hours to attend. Each meeting will be from 10am to 4pm.  

The network will be chaired by Emma Currer, National Officer and is facilitated by Angela Boyle, RCM organiser.

Contact Angela for more information about this network.

Northern Ireland has a Strategic Midwifery Advisory Group (SMAG) which meets four times a year and is facilitated by the RCM. It consists of HOMS and the lead midwives from the service, the university LMEs and other midwives in strategic positions in Northern Ireland including the DHSSPS Adviser, the Midwife Consultant at the Public Health Agency and the Midwife Senior Professional Officer at the Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council (NIPEC).

Every midwife holding a senior strategic position in Northern Ireland is a member of the RCM and therefore a member of the network.

The network's objectives are to provide a direct interface between the RCM and midwives in senior and strategic positions in Northern Ireland, offering a forum for networking and information exchange.

In addition to being a sounding board for the NI Director, the network also acts as a very rapid network for the dissemination and cascading of information throughout both the maternity service and the wider midwifery ‘family’ in Northern Ireland. It is also used to recruit volunteers to represent the RCM within various organisations and working groups.

There are frequent presentations from guest speakers, who communicate and discuss new policy developments in Northern Ireland, and this in turn helps inform the thinking of midwives with a remit for policy development.

The network meets four times at year in the RCM NI Office.

Between meetings, the network communicates via email, and is a very useful resource for newly appointed HOMS and other midwives in senior positions.

There are occasional joint meetings of SMAG and the RCM stewards in NI to discuss matters of mutual concern, e.g. changes to pension provisions or aspects of employment law, e.g. the Disability Discrimination Act.

The network's main contacts are Karen Murray, RCM NI Director, and Caroline Keown, Network Chair. For more information, please email Anne-Marie O'Neill for more information.

The RCM Student Midwives Forum (SMF) debates and discusses issues affecting student midwives at local and national levels, to inform the RCM's work on behalf of student midwife members.

The SMF currently meets four times a year at RCM headquarters in central London. The membership is made up of four England representatives and two from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Representatives are elected by fellow student midwife members in the country they are studying in.

The network is facilitated by Vicky Richards, National Officer for Wales, and supported by other members of RCM staff. 

Further information can be found on our Student Midwives Forum page, or you can send us an email.