Sally has over three decades of experience in nursing and midwifery across various roles, is dedicated to shaping midwifery practices through education, research, and leadership, aiming to ensure safe, high quality and compassionate care. Previously national lead midwife at the former Health Education England and Director of Policy and Practice at the RCM, Sally has a keen interest and strong background in workforce planning and development, joining Birthrate Plus Associates Ltd as Chief Executive Officer in May 2025.

Sally advocates for midwifery on local, national, and international levels and is also committed to advancing career opportunities for Maternity Support Workers, having spearheaded the creation of the first National MSW Education, Competence, and Career Framework. She co-chaired the trailblazer group responsible for establishing the Registered Midwife Degree Apprenticeships. Her contributions to the NHS and the Midwifery Profession have been recognised with an Honorary Doctorate from Birmingham City University and an MBE in the Kings New Years Honours.

Sally lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband, sons and 2 German Shorthaired Pointers– they all keep her pretty busy! She loves skiing and holidaying in Cornwall.

Annette brings more than 20 years of experience as a senior NHS midwifery leader, spanning roles across clinical practice, operational management, and organisational transformation. Her career has included positions as a rotational midwife, ward manager, Supervisor of Midwives, Matron for Acute Maternity Services, Continuity of Care Lead, and Quality Improvement Matron. Across these roles, she has led significant service developments, championing quality, safety, and workforce redesign in maternity settings.

A qualified leader with formal leadership credentials and ILM coaching registration, Annette is recognised for her ability to drive improvement, support teams, and embed sustainable workforce solutions. Her work has consistently focused on enabling safer, more responsive maternity care by empowering midwives and ensuring staffing models align with the needs of women, babies, and the service.

Annette joined Birthrate Plus® in 2022, where her role has grown to encompass Deputy Executive Officer responsibilities. She now provides senior leadership to the team, delivery of Workforce Planning Assessments and the continued development and implementation of the Birthrate Plus® Acuity App. Her insights from decades of NHS experience inform her strategic contributions, ensuring that tools and methodologies remain robust, practical, and grounded in currently maternity service delivery.

Hayley is a Specialist Midwife at Birthrate Plus who is passionate about helping maternity staff and the senior leadership teams unlock the potential of using evidenced based data from the Acuity App to make deployment decisions to ensure services have the right staff in the right place at the right time. With more than 20 years of NHS midwifery experience, Hayley brings a practical understanding of the pressures facing maternity services and the importance of clear, reliable information in supporting safe staffing decisions.

Hayley works alongside maternity teams to help them use the Acuity App with confidence, making the data that is inputted into the App meaningful in their everyday practice. She is passionate about helping staff and leaders recognise staffing pressures, support timely escalation and make informed decisions about where staff are most needed.

Throughout her career, Hayley has worked as a Rotational Midwife, Clinical Skills Facilitator, Team Leader, Matron, Deputy Head of Midwifery and, most recently, spent five years as a Head of Midwifery. In this role, she helped lead the service from a CQC rating of Requires Improvement to Good and, through strategic workforce planning, using BirthratePlus workforce Reports alongside the data from the Acuity App to support the service to achieve full recruitment and maintain safe, sustainable staffing. This experience shapes her belief in having the right staff in the right place at the right time, and her commitment to helping maternity teams use the Acuity App to support safer, high-quality care for women, babies and families.

With over 20 years of experience in customer service and finance, Kelly brings extensive knowledge, professionalism, and a strong commitment to accuracy and efficiency. Having joined the company in 2022 as Finance Administrator, Kelly progressed to Finance Lead in 2025, demonstrating dedication, expertise, and a commitment to professional growth.

In the Finance Lead role, Kelly takes pride in maintaining high standards of accuracy, ensuring efficient financial processes, and supporting the smooth running of the business. With a keen eye for detail and a practical, organised approach, Kelly is dedicated to delivering reliable results and contributing to the continued success of the company

Samantha joined Birthrate Plus® in July 2026, bringing over eight years’ experience supporting senior teams and keeping busy workplaces running smoothly. New to the healthcare industry, she previously worked across the design, architecture and music sectors, giving her a broad range of experience in varied and fast-paced environments.

Samantha helps bring people, priorities and processes together and enjoys making life easier for those around her.

Richard has over 30 years experience of employment and skills – policy, practice and research, particularly in health and social care.

An economist, he has held a number of positions including working as a researcher in the House of Commons, as Director of Employment Relations for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, as a workforce commissioner for a Strategic Health Authority, as a policy adviser in the Department of Health and director of research institutes firstly at London South Bank University and then Bucks New University.

Widely published, he is currently the Professor of Healthcare Management at King’s College London. He was awarded an MBE for services to health and social care in 2015. He has been a Director of Birthrate Plus Associates since 2014. Outside of work he is a patron of the Science Museum, and an ambassador for the Aching Arms charity and can often be found watching rugby league despite being born in Berkshire.

Sally has over three decades of experience in nursing and midwifery across various roles, is dedicated to shaping midwifery practices through education, research, and leadership, aiming to ensure safe, high quality and compassionate care. Previously national lead midwife at the former Health Education England and Director of Policy and Practice at the RCM, Sally has a keen interest and strong background in workforce planning and development, joining Birthrate Plus Associates Ltd as Chief Executive Officer in May 2025.

Sally advocates for midwifery on local, national, and international levels and is also committed to advancing career opportunities for Maternity Support Workers, having spearheaded the creation of the first National MSW Education, Competence, and Career Framework. She co-chaired the trailblazer group responsible for establishing the Registered Midwife Degree Apprenticeships. Her contributions to the NHS and the Midwifery Profession have been recognised with an Honorary Doctorate from Birmingham City University and an MBE in the Kings New Years Honours.

Sally lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband, sons and 2 German Shorthaired Pointers– they all keep her pretty busy! She loves skiing and holidaying in Cornwall.

Martin is the youngest child of Jean Ball who developed the Birthrate Plus Methodology, he has been a Director since 2016, representing Jean on the board.

His early career was with Nottinghamshire Police where he became a Senior Detective retiring in 2004, he then retrained as a Plumbing and Heating Engineer.

In 2006 he launched his own business, serving domestic and commercial customers locally, which employs 3 staff who now work mainly on contracts for Local Authorities in and around Nottingham. A significant part of this contract work is for the NHS Hospital Discharge Service.

In 2018 he formed a Construction Company specialising in small new-build residential developments, where he is Project Manager, he graduated from University of Lincoln in 2020 with MSc in Construction Management and in 2025 became associate Member of RICS.

He lives in Sherwood Forest with his wife and two sons, one of whom works for the NHS as a Therapy Assistant.

Benash Nazmeen MBE is a registered midwife and a Non-Executive Director of Birthrate Plus, which she joined in August 2023. She qualified in 2011 and spent most of the following decade on labour wards. She has advised the Care Quality Commission, contributed to the MBRRACE-UK confidential enquiries, and sits on the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s Midwifery Strategic Advisory Group and the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce’s Health Equity Expert Reference Group. She co-founded the Association of South Asian Midwives, and received an MBE in 2026.

Annette brings more than 20 years of experience as a senior NHS midwifery leader, spanning roles across clinical practice, operational management, and organisational transformation. Her career has included positions as a rotational midwife, ward manager, Supervisor of Midwives, Matron for Acute Maternity Services, Continuity of Care Lead, and Quality Improvement Matron. Across these roles, she has led significant service developments, championing quality, safety, and workforce redesign in maternity settings.

A qualified leader with formal leadership credentials and ILM coaching registration, Annette is recognised for her ability to drive improvement, support teams, and embed sustainable workforce solutions. Her work has consistently focused on enabling safer, more responsive maternity care by empowering midwives and ensuring staffing models align with the needs of women, babies, and the service.

Annette joined Birthrate Plus® in 2022, where her role has grown to encompass Deputy Executive Officer responsibilities. She now provides senior leadership to the team, delivery of Workforce Planning Assessments and the continued development and implementation of the Birthrate Plus® Acuity App. Her insights from decades of NHS experience inform her strategic contributions, ensuring that tools and methodologies remain robust, practical, and grounded in currently maternity service delivery.