Maternity Team & Clinical Leads
Hilary Farrow
Clinical Network Manager, Maternity
Hilary’s role involves leading on collaborative working with commissioners, providers, local maternity systems and other key stakeholders in the development of maternity services and in supporting implementation of the Maternity Transformation Programme and recommendations from the Ockenden Report. Her aspiration is to support colleagues to commission and provide a high-quality maternity service for the women, families and the staff providing maternity care in Yorkshire & the Humber. Hilary has previously worked in maternity services at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust as a midwife and has experience in all areas of midwifery practice. Her previous role as a Maternity Risk Manager and Supervisor of Midwives involved quality assurance, clinical governance, clinical audit, research and peer reviews. Her passion for improving services has supported her previous role as Quality Improvement Manager for the Y&H Maternity Clinical Network since 2014 and is the Y&H Maternity Safety Champion. She has provided expertise and leadership to develop a Y&H Maternity Dashboard, Y&H Stillbirth and Bereavement Care Recommendations as well as supporting the work programme areas and safer maternity care projects. Her national involvement included being a member of the working groups for Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle version 1, ATAIN programme and has presented regionally and nationally on the safety agenda. Hilary has experience of working as a Senior LMS Midwife leading on safety, neonatal care and provided a strategic link for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service. She has also provided support for the North Region Maternity Team as a safety lead. Hilary is based at West Offices in York.
Talitha Grandison
Quality Improvement Manager, Maternity
Tal was appointed as Quality Improvement Manager in March 2023 and is supporting the delivery of the Better Births maternity priorities. Previous to that Tal was the Quality Improvement Lead for the Clinical Network since January 2021. Tal now leads on the Preterm workstream for the Clinical Network, and provides leadership and oversight for the Clinical Network improvement programmes. Tal has been a midwife since 2007, working across the Yorkshire & the Humber in a number of midwifery roles. Prior to taking up her clinical network role she worked for the West Yorkshire & Harrogate Local Maternity System as their midwife for Improving Neonatal Outcomes. Tal is based at West Offices, York.
Elizabeth Audsley
Quality Improvement Lead, Maternity
Lizzy was appointed as Quality Improvement Lead in October 2018 and is supporting the delivery of the Better Births Maternity priorities. Lizzy is leading on the Maternity Enhanced and Critical Care programme for the Clinical Network, as well as aspects of the Safer Maternity Care agenda, supporting providers and stakeholders to improve the quality and outcomes for women and their families. Lizzy has worked in a number of roles within NHS England since 2013; working within the National Maternity Transformation Programme Team (established as a result of the Better Births Review) as well as the Medical Directorate in the South West Region for the Performers List and Controlled Drugs Team, working collaboratively with professional regulatory bodies and across different directorates and regional boundaries to support service improvement. Lizzy is based at West Offices, York.
Laura Kirkbride
Quality Improvement Lead, Maternity
Laura was appointed as Quality Improvement Lead in June 2022 and is supporting the delivery of the Better Births Maternity priorities. Laura is leading on the Maternity Dashboard and Digital agenda for the Clinical Network, supporting providers and stakeholders to improve the quality and outcomes for women and their families. Laura has worked in a number of NHS organisations since 2015 including Leeds Community Healthcare and Central London Clinical Commissioning Group. Laura’s role within these organisations has been to work with services to identify and implement new ways of working, working collaboratively with other NHS organisations to improve quality and outcomes for patients. Laura has led on monitoring and managing performance within her previous roles, analysing data and identifying where improvements can be made. Laura is based at Oak House, Rotherham.
Kate Morley
Clinical Advisor, Perinatal Mental Health
Katy is a Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Nurse and Team Manager with the Perinatal Mental Health (PMH) Liaison Team, Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, which provides a service to women and families living in the Hull, East Yorkshire, North and North East Lincolnshire area. Katy qualified as a mental health nurse in 2002; she has extensive experience working with unwell, vulnerable and at risk patients including those that attend A&E in crisis and are cared for within an inpatient setting. Katy accepted a lead role in the development and set up of the perinatal mental health liaison team in 2010, at the time one of the few PMH teams in the country. Katy’s role was pivotal in an ambitious programme of expansion of services in the Hull, East Yorkshire, North and North East Lincolnshire area following investment from NHS England community service development fund. Katy chairs the Yorkshire and Humber (Y&H) PMH Network Steering Group and Learning Collaborative and represents Y&H on National PMH groups. Katy has been involved in regional and national conferences and is a contributing author to the well-known book “ Another Twinkle in the Eye” a key text about experiencing perinatal mental illness from a patient’s viewpoint.
Anna Downward-Fletcher
Quality Improvement Manager, Perinatal Mental Health
Anna leads on the development and delivery of the clinical networks perinatal mental health work programme. The programme aims to support the delivery of quality improvements and improve the experience and outcomes for women, infants and families. Previously Anna was a Quality Improvement Lead for Maternity. Prior to joining the Clinical Networks in 2014, Anna worked for an acute provider trust, working in Human Resources and in project management roles and has undertaken a number of improvement projects within the NHS. Anna led on achieving NHS Litigation Authority Standards at an acute provider trust and worked in maternity services working alongside obstetricians, midwives and managers to achieve the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST) Maternity Clinical Risk Management Standards. Anna is based at our Oak House office in Rotherham.
Lesley King
Admin Support Officer
Lesley was appointed as Admin Support Officer in October 2021 and is supporting the Maternity and Perinatal Mental Health Team. Lesley has worked in a number of roles within the NHS since 2014; working within the different specialities to support the safe admission and discharge of patients within both a clinical and administrative capacity. Lesley has been involved in Administration for the past 30 years, supporting various business and Professional Organisations. Lesley is based at Oak House, Rotherham.