Band 6 Day Assessment Midwife

Bedfordshire Hospitals; Luton; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Luton is seeking a Band 6 Midwife to provide autonomous, evidence-based antenatal care within the Maternity Day Assessment Unit (DAU). The role involves management of women requiring maternal and fetal surveillance, escalation as needed, and collaboration with obstetric and neonatal teams.

Flexibility to support other maternity areas during escalation is expected, with leadership responsibilities across shifts and a focus on reducing unnecessary

Qualifications

• Registered Midwife with UK registration
• Degree or equivalent qualification
• Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD)

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership within the DAU environment for safe, effective service delivery on a shift-by-shift basis.
• Take charge of the DAU area when required, coordinating workload, patient flow and staffing.
• Support Band 7 Midwives and Managers in delivering operational and clinical objectives across maternity services.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Clinical judgment

Management

Education

Registered Midwife

Degree or equivalent

CPD evidence

Job description

Main area Band 6 Day Assessment Unit Midwife Grade NHS AfC: Band 6 Contract Permanent: Hours to include week days and weekends Hours

• Full time
• Part time

37.5 hours per week Job ref 418-MAT81245-EH

Site Luton and Dunstable Hospital Town Luton Salary £39,959 - £48,117 pa pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 24/11/2026 23:59 Interview date 01/12/2026

Job overview

The Band 6 Midwife working within the Maternity Day Assessment Unit (DAU) is responsible for the provision of high-quality, evidence-based, woman-centred antenatal care in an inpatient setting. The post holder will work autonomously within professional boundaries to assess, plan, implement and evaluate care for women and babies attending DAU, whilst recognising deviation from normal and escalating appropriately.

The DAU Midwife will manage women requiring ongoing maternal and fetal surveillance, facilitate ambulatory pathways, and contribute to reducing unnecessary inpatient admissions. The role requires excellent clinical judgement, effective communication, and close multidisciplinary working with obstetric, neonatal and wider maternity teams.

The post holder will support service delivery within DAU as their primary base, with flexibility to support other maternity areas during escalation in line with service need.

Main duties of the job

Demonstrate leadership within the DAU environment, contributing to safe, effective service delivery on a shift-by-shift basis.

Take charge of the DAU area when required, supporting coordination of workload, patient flow and staffing.

Support Band 7 Midwives and Managers in the delivery of operational and clinical objectives including support to other clinical areas during periods of high acuity.

Contribute to effective use of resources, ensuring care is delivered safely and efficiently.

Participate in escalation processes during periods of increased activity across maternity services.

Working for our organisation

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics-led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience - we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity, and creating a culture that values differences.

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Provide holistic, individualised, woman-centred midwifery care within the Maternity Day Assessment Unit in line with Trust guidelines, NICE guidance and national standards

Undertake comprehensive antenatal and postnatal assessments, including:

Maternal observations and MEWS

Urinalysis

Abdominal palpation, symphysis fundal height, fetal lie and auscultation

CTG monitoring where clinically indicated

Independently manage women attending DAU for ongoing surveillance and care, including but not limited to:

Hypertension, raised PCR and pre-eclampsia

Preterm pre-labour rupture of membranes (P-PROM)

Diabetes in pregnancy

Obstetric cholestasis

Fetal growth restriction and CTG surveillance

Reduced fetal movements follow-up

Women undecided or declining induction of labour

Person specification

Qualifications

• Registered Midwife
• Degree or equivalent qualification
• Evidence of continuing professional development

Experience

• Experience at band 6 level
• Suitable clinical experience in all clinical areas
• Act as mentor and assessor
• Experience in taking charge of shifts

Knowledge

• Understanding of the need of confidentiality awareness at all times
• Overall knowledge and experience of the Maternity and Maternity related guidelines and policies
• Understanding and adherence to the NMC code as well as the Standards of proficiency for midwives
• Evidence based client centred care
• Knowledge of child protection issues and policies.
• Demonstrate awareness of public health agenda
• Awareness of resource management and budget control
• Knowledge of research and audit

Skills

• Good written and verbal communication skills
• High standards of clinical performance
• Ability to manage
• Leadership and Motivational skills

It is an exciting time to join Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. We run two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Our 7,500 staff provide high quality care for a growing population of around 700,000 across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas.

You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. Travel between hospital sites may be required. We have state-of-the art facilities placing us at the heart of cutting edge health care. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.

All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering their first six months in post.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.