Dr Gloria Rowland awarded MBE
Dr Gloria Rowland trained as a nurse and midwife in Nigeria before relocating to the UK where she became the first black African director of midwifery. Today she is celebrating being awarded a Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours.
Gloria joined Barts Health in November 2018. She made considerable improvements to our maternity services and was recognised by CQC Chief Inspector Ted Baker for “outstanding practice in the leadership and drive shown.”
"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," Gloria said in response to the feedback from the CQC.
Gloria has been recognised in the New Year Honours for her services to midwifery. "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," reflected Gloria.
Gloria's leadership skills were called upon this year when she was appointed to the chief nursing officer’s national advisor group in response to the coronavirus pandemic. She also celebrated The Year of the Midwife by thanking her team, our patients and expectant mothers of east London, as well as addressing concerns about the disproportionate number of BAME staff dying due to Covid-19.
Gloria has since been appointed chief nurse at South West London Health and Care Partnership and South West London CCG and she starts her new role in January.