We’re joined by Mari-Carmen Sanchez-Morris, former paediatric intensive care nurse and founder of Matresa which provides 1-1 support and education for new mothers. In this episode, we discuss the maternity care crisis, and how better education, earlier support and employer action can help mothers through pregnancy, postnatal recovery and the return to work.

Mari-Carmen brings a breadth of knowledge and experience combines through being a mother of three and coming from working in the NHS. She shares about the issues within the NHS and provides insightful solutions which focuses on new mothers and providing education, empowerment and engagement.

For more information about Medstars or the Aria app and what we do, visit: www.medstars.co.uk 🔗

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re joined by Raffaela Goodby, Chief People Officer at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. She shares with us insights into how to lead well within NHS, and the continued impact and recovery within NHS after COVID in 2020. She also shares how our Aria app has been used within Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundations Trust to offer 24/7 mental health and wellbeing support to staff and how this has re-shaped their staff care.

Raffaela brings over two decades of experience in people leadership, culture and organisational development, having held senior roles across the public sectors, including Birmingham City Council, NHS England and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

For more information about Medstars or the Aria app and what we do, visit: www.medstars.co.uk 🔗

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Syeda Ali is a consultant psychiatrist specialising in forensic psychiatry and women’s mental health. Syeda has worked as Medical Director and lead psychiatrist for a women’s secure psychiatric service in the North West of England, where many patients have experienced sex-based violence and complex trauma. She’s also a contributor to discussions on femicide, sex-based violence and women’s mental health, via the Women in Mental Health Group at the RCPsych

Books mentioned in the podcast:

Naga Munchetty: It’s Probably Nothing: Critical Conversations on the Women’s Health Crisis

https://amzn.eu/d/08KzGjju

Lisa Appignanesi : Mad, Bad And Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors from 1800 to the Present

https://amzn.eu/d/07lOZrrD

Caroline Criado Perez: Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

https://amzn.eu/d/02TPAzoC

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re joined by Lauren Williams, a women’s health physiotherapist with a specialist interest in postnatal recovery, pelvic health, pregnancy-related pain, and helping women return confidently to exercise and everyday life after childbirth.

We’ll be exploring some of the things women are very commonly told after pregnancy — and why much of the advice around postnatal recovery may not be enough.

Lauren Williams

https://warwickshirehomephysio.co.uk/team/lauren-williams/

Lauren's book recommendation:

Alex Light - The Price of Pretty

https://amzn.eu/d/0gOtwW2I

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s it like to deliver life-saving care in a war zone? NHS consultant anaesthetist Dr Elma Wong shares with Dr Barry Lambert her frontline experiences with Médecins Sans Frontières in Yemen, Gaza and the West Bank, revealing the realities of medicine under fire and the resilience it demands.

https://msf.org.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Elizabeth Dick is a Consultant Radiologist and Professor of Practice at Imperial College London, where she is Associate Director of Medical Education. She is internationally recognised for her work in Emergency and Trauma Radiology, having been instrumental as the Radiology lead in the development of Major Trauma Centres across London and the UK, which have halved mortality rates for major trauma cases since 2010.

Elizabeth is an outspoken advocate for addressing bullying, racism, and toxic workplace cultures within the NHS, and for promoting compassion, diversity, and inclusion in healthcare training and practice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Elizabeth Dick is a Consultant Radiologist and Professor of Practice at Imperial College London.

A former President of both the British and European Societies of Emergency Radiology, she is also a passionate educator and advocate for social mobility in medicine. Her award-winning ‘Getting into Medicine’ and Virtual Work Experience programmes at Imperial College NHS Trust have opened pathways for thousands of 16–18-year-olds from non-selective state schools. In 2025, Elizabeth and her team and received the UK Social Mobility Gold Award at the national SOMOs, which honour leaders creating tangible change in access, opportunity and inclusion across the UK workforce.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alan has worked as lead consultant psychotherapist to major private manufacturing businesses and emergency services. He has spoken at the World Congress in CBT regrading mental health and work. His specialist interest in burn-out has developed over the last 5 years.

In this episode we’re delving into something most of us spend our lives avoiding – our awareness of mortality. How does the knowledge that life is finite shape the way we live, love, and work?

Alan is also a Medstars champion

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.