Consultant Midwife, Medway NHS Foundation Trust

Michelle Keeler is Consultant Midwife at Medway NHS Foundation Trust in Kent. Since qualifying as a midwife in 2000 Michelle has worked in roles throughout maternity services in both hospital and community settings, including a caseloading team for teenage mothers with a high home birth rate. She worked in, and later managed, the freestanding Barkantine Birth Centre before going on to establish and lead a further freestanding birth centre in Barking, East London. Both Birth Centres are part of Barts Health NHS Trust. Michelle subsequently moved from this low risk setting back to the acute hospital to manage the Delivery Suite and Obstetric HDU at the Royal London Hospital. 

Following a move to Kent with a young family, Michelle has worked at Medway NHS Foundation Trust since 2015, fulfilling both clinical and managerial positions. As Consultant Midwife since 2022, Michelle’s enjoys a varied role combining elements of clinical practice, leadership, research and education with practice and service development.

Michelle has been a course director with Baby Lifeline since 2015. She has a special interest in the management of obstetric emergencies in community / midwifery-led settings, and the provision of training to ensure that midwives are skilled and confident to manage these situations safely. The inclusion of human factors awareness and simulation training play a key part to ensure effective team working, communication and use of clinical skills in such circumstances.

Michelle has a Masters Degree in Advanced Midwifery Practice.

Michelle was awarded the Chief Midwifery Officer Silver Award in 2022.