Official opening of RCM’s and RCOG’s offices receives a royal visit
on 28 April 2022
The offices of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) were officially opened by their Royal Highnesses The Princess Royal and The Duchess of Cambridge.
As part of their first joint official visit, The Princess, who is patron of the RCM, and The Duchess, who is patron of RCOG, were given a talk on how the two Royal Colleges are working together to improve maternity care, before jointly opening the offices in London.
The Princess and The Duchess were welcomed by RCM CEO Gill Walton and RCOG President Dr Edward Morris upon arrival. The Royal visit was used as an opportunity to highlight some of the work RCM and RCOG are undertaking to improve maternity safety in the UK.
RCM CEO, Gill Walton, said: “It’s great to officially open our new headquarters. Having the RCM’s Patron, The Princess Royal, and The Duchess of Cambridge here to mark the occasion has made it even more special. The past few years have been particularly tough for maternity services, so it’s been great to showcase some of the excellent work that midwives and all maternity staff are doing across the country.”
Their Royal Highnesses were informed of some of the key collaborations to create projects such as Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC), global work in Bangladesh and responses to the Ukrainian crisis.
During their visit, The Princess and The Duchess met with some of the RCM Award winners for their excellence in maternity care from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A roundtable discussion was also held to highlight the continued inequalities that women experience in maternity care. Women who have experience of maternity care inequalities shared their stories to The Princess and The Duchess.
The visit also included a demonstration of the new Tommy’s App which can be used by maternity staff to improve the current checklist method for antenatal risk assessment. A midwife was on hand to show how the Tommy’s App worked practically at antenatal appointments.
RCM and RCOG also explained more about their collaboration on the ABC project and how it is contributing to a nationally agreed approach to monitoring fetal wellbeing during labour.
RCOG President, Dr Edward Morris, said: “Today has provided us with an opportunity to showcase the fantastic work we are doing jointly with RCM to improve maternity services and gynaecological care for women from all backgrounds across the world. Work that is crucial to supporting women throughout their life.”
Photo credit: @katedarkinsphotography