NHS Grampian welcomed midwife Debbie McWilliam into a new joint role at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin in April, which will see her having time dedicated to digital projects as well as working on the ward.

 

Debbie is passionate about putting women and families’ experiences at the heart of improving service delivery. She has led several quality improvement projects already and plans to use data collection and analysis to inform the way services, as well as midwifery education, are improved across Grampian.

 

She said: “We’re streamlining digital services for women, for staff and for quality improvement and risk management purposes. This will help us provide seamless, multi-disciplinary and collaborative care, not only between our sites within NHS Grampian but also with our NHS Highland colleagues as well.

 

“My post came about as part of the Maternity Collaborative between NHS Grampian and NHS Highland, and I’m part of a data and digital workstream alongside colleagues who work in both areas. I also teach knitting and crocheting locally and it’s not too different to that – as we pull together different threads, build up a picture and learn from each other. Teamwork is a valuable aspect of midwifery as we all work collaboratively to provide the very best care we can to families.”

 

Debbie qualified as a midwife in 2010, worked in Australia for a year and gained her neonatal nursing qualification in 2015, after 17 years in banking. She was inspired to join the profession by the midwifery team in Elgin.

 

“The team in Ward 3 and in the community made me want to be a midwife as they supported me so much when I was having my own kids. I am delighted to be part of that amazing team with some great colleagues and friends,” she explained. 

 

Debbie was “born and bred” in the North of Scotland, settled in Elgin in 1993 and now has two grown up children. She says she loves living in Elgin, which is “perfectly placed” for exploring the hills, coast and forest trails.

 

She added: “One of my favourite things is discovering new walking trails and I’m currently on a mission to find all the Ordnance Survey Trig points in Moray and Nairn. I’m also grateful for the community spirit we have here and I enjoy teaching knitting and crocheting. I really love watching women make time for themselves and learn a new skill.”

 

Find out more about working and living in the North of Scotland: https://www.wishyouworkedhere.scot/