Rockingham midwives Holly Green and Fiona Watson winners at 2024 WA Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards

The excellence of the entire midwifery team at Rockingham General Hospital was recognised when two staff members received awards for their outstanding contribution to the public health system.

Holly Green was named graduate of the year and Fiona Watson won the excellence in midwifery award at the 2024 WA Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards on May 11.

RGH executive director Kath Smith said they both demonstrated care, compassion, commitment and innovation in their roles to make a real difference for patients.

“Being nominated for an award is a significant achievement and we are proud to have had five finalists in total from the Rockingham Peel Group acknowledged for their work in midwifery and Aboriginal health,” Ms Smith said.

“All of our nurses and midwives consistently strive to achieve excellent outcomes through the provision of high-quality, patient-centred care.”

New graduate Ms Green was recognised for displaying care and compassion in her role.

She said she was driven to pursue midwifery after her own pregnancy experience.

“It really is an honour to win this award. I really appreciate the support I’ve received as a graduate at RGH and I’m grateful for the positive work environment which has had a huge impact on my career development,’ she said.

“I’m passionate about advocating for women to minimalise interventions where appropriate to provide a safe and empowering birth environment.

“I’ve also been involved in the development of an app with my fellow graduate Elliesha O’Reilly to support parents following the birth of their baby, which will hopefully become part of the discharge process.”

Ms Watson, who is a registered midwife, was recognised for her commitment to staff support and development and for her work with vulnerable women, including those who have experienced perinatal loss.

She has collaborated with organisations to introduce weighted bears to be given to the family with the baby’s birth weight via a GoFundMe ‘Beary Lovely Bears’ project, memory boxes, donated garments and a voluntary photographic service to provide memories for families who have experienced stillbirth.

Ms Watson spruiks the message “speak their name and love them”.

“It is a privilege to be in this role and I’m honoured to receive this award,” she said.

“It would not have been possible without the support of the team at RGH and the opportunities I’ve been given to deliver education to staff and to explore ways to better help our patients who experience perinatal loss.”

The other finalists from Rockingham/Peel included Jessica Snowden for graduate of the year and Sharon Beckwith and Nicole Slavin for excellence in Aboriginal health.

More details about each of the 2024 winners is available at wanmea.com.au.