The Gibraltar Health Authority has announced that it will introduce a new Early Pregnancy Assessment Service for expectant mothers as from early June of this year. In support of this initiative, the School of Health Studies has introduced a midwifery training programme for nursing staff with a four-day workshop that took place last week.

The aim of the training programme is to ensure all staff across the board are up to date in current practices. A bespoke Gynaecology module has been designed to instruct staff nurses from A&E, Dudley Toomey and Day Surgery, as well as the midwives in the hospital, to enhance and reinforce vital skills in this key area of healthcare in Gibraltar.

Anna Sherliker, BSc (Hons) Midwifery from the University of Salford, Manchester led the programme.

GHA Clinical Nurse Manager Fiona McCoubrey explained that another of their objectives was to empower staff when dealing with pregnancy loss. Ms. McCoubrey explained that the training has been tailor-made to provide staff the proficiency to deal clinically with all aspects of such a difficult experience, including psychological and emotional care.

Minister for Health, Care and Justice the Hon Neil F. Costa MP welcomed Ms Sherliker to Gibraltar. Mr Costa said: “Ms Sherliker brings over 26 years’ experience in midwifery practice, education and research; a breadth of knowledge that will greatly benefit our nurses. This new service has been created for all staff in the GHA, to provide high quality support for the women of Gibraltar. As a Government, we put the health of patients and the community first, and with this in mind, the Ministry for Health, in conjunction with the GHA, and all health professionals, are keen to facilitate new training programmes to improve the service our community rightly expects and deserves.”