60 seconds with...Sarah Latham
This week, Sarah Latham started as the new associate director of midwifery at Newham Hospital. We caught up with her to get to know a bit about her and what she’s most excited about in her new role.
Hi Sarah, welcome to Newham Hospital! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and where you were before coming here?
“Hello, my name is Sarah and I’ve been a midwife for over 23 years. I trained, firstly as a nurse and then a midwife at Homerton University Hospital and have worked there as a midwife since I qualified.
“I’m passionate about delivering outstanding maternity care across all the clinical settings. I’ve been the interim head of midwifery at Homerton since March, and I’m excited to bring my skills and knowledge to Newham Hospital and to learn from the teams here. I feel like my career to date has brought me to this point and I’m ready to take on the role of associate director of midwifery at Newham Hospital.”
How’s your first week going?
“It’s been going great – I’ve been blown away by how welcoming everyone is! On my first morning, I had a lovely induction with Sherry and some of the team, where they had a breakfast waiting for me – I really didn’t expect it but I appreciated it so much.
“One of the biggest things about leaving any organisation is leaving behind the relationships that you have built up and cultivated over a long period of time. Having been at my previous organisation for 23 years, I was really nervous about this element of starting my new job.
“But I really needn’t have been. To come to Newham Hospital and be welcomed like this by the team, with such warmth and excitement is beyond what I could have imagined.”
What being associate director of midwifery mean to you?
“For me, being the associate director of midwifery means that I’m a leader and a spokesperson for our maternity service. That I champion the team, the work they do and their expertise, while also ensuring we continually move forward with our shared vision.
“It’s my role to come with fresh eyes and look at how things are running in the department – what’s going well, and what can be developed further. I won’t implement change for the sake of it. But if something does need to be improved, I will look to change it in a collaborative way, together with the team. I’m here to help facilitate the co-production of our service with the maternity team and our women and families.
“Finally, it’s vital that I’m championing the maternity team and acting as an advocate for them and their needs. If they are happy, feel supported, have what they need to do their job and are emotionally cared for, then we will be in the best position to provide outstanding care.”
What are you most excited about in the new role?
“I’m really excited about joining a new hospital and a new trust. Newham Hospital is a unique place, with unique staff, which serves a unique population. I’m so excited about the opportunities and the challenges that working here will bring.
“I’m also excited about joining the wider Barts Health family – this is one of the largest NHS trusts and there’s so many opportunities for me to learn within it which will help me, my team and the women we treat.
“I’m also really excited about meeting lots of new people. If you see me in the corridor, do stop me and say hi. Or drop me an email if you would like to catch up and have a chat. I’m keen to meet as many people from as many teams across the hospital so do please get in touch. I might even see some of you as part of coffee roulette!”.
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