60 seconds with Gloria Rowland
It’s not often the CQC singles one person out for praise. But in Newham’s maternity services report, published today, Dr Gloria Rowland, Barts Health Director of midwifery, has been recognised by Chief Inspector Ted Baker for: “outstanding practice in the leadership and drive shown.”
Gloria thinks the change is down to the determination and dedication of the people on the shop floor, and is excited to hand over the next phase of the sustainability plan to the people she’s been inspiring and empowering since November 2018.
You’ve been praised by the CQC for your ‘drive and commitment.’ Where does that come from?
It comes from my personal ethos and my moral values of doing my best for anyone and everyone whom I come into contact with at all times.
I‘ve led and delivered on many maternity change transformation programmes and I understand what good and excellent maternity services and care looks like. I’ve developed my personal change management techniques that have been proven over time to be effective and sustainable with the right team and support.
What do you think it takes to be a good midwife?
A good midwife is kind, compassionate, skilful, brave, very competent and is willing to stand as an advocate for women. Bringing life into the world is such a private event and midwives supporting women through the process should see this as a privilege. It should always be treated with respect and dignity as child birth is a major life event. The role of a good midwife is to help to foster positive birth experience at all times .
What are you most proud of at Newham?
The people on the shop floor; the way they’ve embraced the whole change process and their level of engagement is amazing.
Knowing that people genuinely want to change and sustain progress is what drives me.
In any change programme, you will naturally encounter barriers and resistance to change but with a strong resilient team you will have the shared ability to overcome those obstacles.
What’s your priority for the service now?
Continuing to work on the culture and engagement with staff is key to sustain our efforts as we journey towards good and outstanding.
I have tried to empower front line staff to realise their potential by creating career development opportunities to enable service improvement.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff for trusting and believing in my leadership, without which we would not have been able to make the rapid improvement acknowledged by CQC.