RM, MSc
Counting what maternity care misses.
Reports keep finding the same problems. I work on the gap between what the data says and what actually happens to a woman on the day.
Midwife since 2008, MSc Midwifery, former NHS Head of Quality, and founder of Elythia.
I've been a midwife since 2008, as a clinician, but also reviewing incidents when things didn't go the way they should. Most recently I was Head of Quality at NHS integrated care board level in Leeds.
These days I run Elythia, helping women understand their own maternity care, and I work with organisations on maternity quality and safety.
the year I qualified as a midwife
countries: trained in Italy, worked in the UK and the United Arab Emirates
in the UK for Best Social Impact, UK Small Business Awards 2025
organisations founded
I trained as a midwife at La Sapienza University in Rome and started work in London in 2009. I've worked on labour wards and in the community in London and Northampton, spent five years in the United Arab Emirates as a senior midwife and then a quality and patient safety manager, and came back to Yorkshire in 2019 to lead a continuity of carer project.
In 2022 I moved into quality and patient safety at the Leeds integrated care board, first as Quality Manager and then as Head of Quality. That meant reviewing serious incidents and complaints, visiting services, and being part of the conversations when a maternity service had to be suspended and the risk that follows had to be managed. I've also been part of the independent review of maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals, chaired by Donna Ockenden.
I left the NHS in April 2026, not because I gave up on it, but because I think I can do more from the outside. Reports keep finding the same problems. I'd rather spend my time on the gap between what the data says and what actually happens to a woman on the day.
One-to-one support for pregnant women in the UK. I help women make sense of their notes, results and options, so they can make decisions with the facts in front of them. It works alongside NHS care, never instead of it.
elythia.co.ukA community interest company I set up with two fellow directors. Maternity and perinatal mental health support, starting with Romanian-speaking families and open to every mother.
elythiaequity.org.ukI work with NHS organisations, maternity services and health tech companies on quality, patient safety and learning from incidents. I'm a maternity advisor to Strasys, and I sit on the Birthrate Plus advisory group.
Talk to me about a projectI talk about maternity safety from both sides: the ward, and the room where incidents get reviewed. I give talks, join panels and comment for the press.
Speaker and co-author at maternity and healthcare conferences in the UK and abroad.
I also host Your Birth, Decoded, long conversations about pregnancy and birth with the people who've lived it and the people who care for them. Watch an episode
Ask about a talk2023 to now
Elythia Ltd and Elythia Equity CIC
Since 2024
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, chaired by Donna Ockenden
Case review and grading of care.
2024 to 2026
Leeds Health and Care Partnership, NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board
Led the quality team. Serious incident and complaint reviews, quality assurance visits to providers, and quality and safety input into commissioning.
2022 to 2024
Leeds Health and Care Partnership (formerly NHS Leeds CCG)
Led the development of the quality and safety measures for termination of pregnancy services, work NHS England published as a national case study in its 2024 guidance on improving abortion care.
2019 to 2022
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Led the move to a continuity of carer model, then worked in antenatal clinic and day unit, including with high-risk pregnancies.
2015 to 2019
Kanad Hospital (formerly Oasis Hospital), Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
Labour ward coordinator and trainer, then set up the perinatal safety committee and led two Joint Commission International clinical care certifications.
2009 to 2014
Barts Health (Whipps Cross), London, and Northampton General Hospital
Hospital and community midwifery, including a community caseload.
Judge, Nursing Times Awards 2026
The King's Award for Integrated Approaches to Care. See the judging panel
Poster, British Intrapartum Care Society conference, Liverpool, November 2026
"Invisible in the data: Romanian women in UK maternity care, and what a community-led model reveals". Conference details
Talk to the National Ethnic Minority Senior Midwives group
April 2026
5th in the UK, Best Social Impact, UK Small Business Awards 2025
Elythia Limited, finalist. UK Small Business Awards
“I left the NHS in April 2026, not because I gave up on it, but because I think I can do more from the outside.”
You can check my registration yourself on the NMC register.
Emma Rajakrishnen is a UK registered midwife who qualified in 2008 and holds an MSc in Midwifery from the University of Dundee. She is based in West Yorkshire. She was Head of Quality at NHS integrated care board level in Leeds until April 2026, and is the founder of Elythia and Elythia Equity CIC.
Maternity safety, why incident reviews keep finding the same problems, and the women maternity data doesn't see. She gives talks, joins panels and comments for the press.
No. She left the NHS in April 2026. Her last NHS role was Head of Quality for Leeds Health and Care Partnership, part of NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.
Elythia is the company Emma founded. Elythia Maternity gives one-to-one support to pregnant women in the UK, alongside their NHS care. Elythia Equity CIC is a community interest company offering maternity and perinatal mental health support, starting with Romanian-speaking families and open to every mother.
If you're pregnant and looking for support, Elythia Maternity is the best place to start. For community work, it's Elythia Equity CIC. For anything else, a project, a talk or just a conversation, email me and I'll get back to you.
contact@elythia.net LinkedInEmma Rajakrishnen RM, MSc is a registered midwife and maternity quality and safety lead. She was Head of Quality at NHS integrated care board level in Leeds, has been part of the independent review of maternity services at Nottingham, and judges the Nursing Times Awards. She founded Elythia and Elythia Equity CIC.