Joyce Ayre is our Head of Midwifery and has been at CHFT since 2004.

She's the latest in our series celebrating 2020 Year of the Nurse and Midwife as designated by the World Health Organisation  to mark 200 years since Florence Nightingale's birthday.

Joyce came to us as Sure Start Public Health Midwife  a multi-agency role working within a Sure Start Local Programme.   She became ‘Senior Clinical Midwifery Manager’ in 2009 when the post holder retired and was responsible for Community Midwifery, specialist midwives, ante-natal screening and Birth Centres.

Here’s more from Joyce:

Why did you want to become a nurse/midwife? I knew from the age of seven I  was going to be a nurse. My Nan made me a nurses uniform for my birthday and I never took it off!

I really wanted to help people to get better, to listen, to be kind. When I did my obstetric eight-week experience as a student nurse, I knew then where my true vocation lay – in midwifery and becoming a midwife.

I had always been interested in women’s health and after becoming a staff nurse on Gynaecology, having two children of my own, the desire to become a midwife was even greater.

Why is nursing/midwifery the best career? Being a midwife is mostly joyful but can at times be very sad. You can make such a difference to someone’s life journey to becoming a parent and a family. To be part of bringing a new life into this world, seeing the sense of amazement and achievement in a parents' eyes, is just wonderful and continues to make me feel so grateful to be a part of their experience each and every day.

Sum up nursing/midwifery in three words. An amazing privilege.

Looking back, she says: " When I first came to Halifax as a clinical Sure Start Public Health Midwife, women tended to book very late for their pregnancy care, meaning that in the main, outcomes were not as good as they could have been.

"The multi-disciplinary team worked hard in our area to listen to women and families; to ensure they had a voice which was heard and that they only needed to tell their story once. It was such a delight to turn services around to suit the needs of the community and see women eagerly entering the Children’s Centre much earlier in pregnancy, with the midwifery team so accessible and the community knowing they could pop in at any time as the midwives were based there.

"This was such a change. Before, we had to really encourage early attendance, listening to and working with the local community made a massive difference to their understanding about the importance of ante-natal care.

She adds: " Making a difference to someone’s pregnancy/parenting journey is such a humbling experience. Every woman and family should have a positive experience during their journey, however, we know that is not always the case. In my current role as Head of Midwifery, I continue to play a large part in supporting our staff who also want women’s experience to be right first time”.