Top award for caring midwife

Rachel Thorpe who works at on the Central Birthing Suite at Burnley General Hospital received the Birth Professional of the Year award – to recognise those who have gone the extra mile to prevent baby loss, or to support parents.

Rachel was nominated by Joanne Edwards who she first met in 2013 when she delivered Joanne’s baby Luke, who was sadly stillborn as a result of the rare chromosome disorder Trisomy 13.

The emotional support given by Rachel led to a firm friendship between the pair and she also delivered Joanne’s second child Toby James.

Rachel said: “I am delighted to receive this award on behalf of all the midwives that work here. We all work extremely hard to support families who have suffered loss.

“The care of these women who have lost their babies is really important and we must do everything possible to ease the stress. I love my job and am proud of the work we do.”

Rachel is working closely with Joanne and her husband Mark who founded the Friends of Serenity charity and hopes to help them raise money to buy an ultrasound scan trainer.

She added: “This equipment will be used to train our doctors and nurses to an even higher standard to help them identify any potential problems with a pregnancy earlier allowing appropriate action.”