Imelda Smyth

Imelda brings a unique and powerful combination of lived experience, academic involvement and strategic insight to the Midwifery Strategic Planning Group as a service user representative.

As someone who has personally navigated the maternity care system, Imelda is deeply committed to ensuring that women's voices, families' needs, and person-centred care are embedded into midwifery education, policy and practice.

Since December 2021, Imelda has been a valued member of the Patient and Carer Education Partnership (PCEP) Forum in the School of Nursing & Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast. Where she advocates for the integration of service user perspectives into healthcare training. Drawing on personal experience, Imelda works alongside academic and clinical educators to challenge assumptions, enrich curricula, and ensure that the care provided by future midwives is informed, empathetic, and inclusive.

As an Honorary Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Imelda regularly co-facilitates lectures, participates in the delivery of undergraduate education and contributes to student assessment. She provides a critical voice that helps students and staff connect theoretical learning with the realities and emotions of service users.

A passionate advocate for partnership working, Imelda brings a grounded, compassionate, and collaborative perspective to the Midwifery Strategic Planning Goup, helping to shape a maternity care future that listens, learns and leads with lived experience at its heart.