Introducing Our Team of Experts
Kelly Parker
Managing Director | Litigation Midwife | Experienced midwife | Expert Witness
Kelly, the founder of Kelly Parker Medicolegal Midwifery Experts, leads our team with a depth and combination of clinical insight and legal understanding that is notable in the field. Kelly's career includes 17 years in the NHS, where she most recently served as Community Midwifery Matron, an operational and clinical leadership role and as a Professional Midwifery Advocate, mentoring midwives through pivotal professional challenges. In 2022 Kelly was a finalist for a national award from Royal College of Midwives for “Excellence in midwifery care during a global pandemic”.
Kelly's regulatory credentials are backed by seven years as a Specialist Advisor with the Care Quality Commission and with a secondment as Clinical Peer Reviewer for Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, giving her a granular understanding of professional standards and governance. She applies this expertise to the medicolegal field, offering meticulous, CPR-compliant reports for clinical negligence claims. Kelly's in-house legal experience working as a midwifery litigation advisor for a leading UK solicitors firm has honed her skills in liability and causation within maternity-related cases.
Kelly stands out for her firm dedication to fair, clear, and evidence-based reporting, for both claimant and defendant solicitors. Kelly has completed multiple expert witness training courses with Bond Solon. Kelly ensures every case handled by Kelly Parker Medicolegal Midwifery experts benefits from exceptional clinical and legal acumen, making her a go-to source for maternity litigation expert support in England and Wales.
Samantha Bone
Matron for Clinical Governance | Maternity Safety Investigator | Professional Midwifery Advocate | Expert Witness
Samantha is a highly accomplished senior midwife with nearly 20 years of experience in clinical practice, leadership, governance, and maternity safety investigation. Educated to master's level and a qualified practice teacher specialising in healthcare leadership, patient safety, and professional development, Samantha brings a deep understanding of maternity care and systems and a proven record of clinical credibility.
Samantha has most recently served as Matron for Clinical Governance for Women's Health at East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust, providing executive-level assurance of compliance with national safety frameworks, including the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) and the Maternity Incentive Scheme. Samantha has led a team of specialist midwives, overseen perinatal mortality review teams, and managed investigations and complaint responses across maternity and gynaecology services.
Previously, Samantha held senior posts as Maternity Matron for Intrapartum Care and Maternity Safety Investigator with the Maternity and Neonatal Safety Investigations (MNSI) programme, formerly HSIB. Her work with MNSI involved leading investigations into maternity incidents across England and making safety recommendations that have informed national maternity strategy.
Throughout her career, Samantha has been recognised for her excellence and innovation — winning two British Journal of Midwifery Awards for Teamwork and Innovation and receiving a CQC commendation for outstanding practice.
At Kelly Parker Medicolegal, Samantha combines her extensive clinical background, leadership experience, and deep understanding of safety investigation to provide impartial, evidence-based expert opinion in medicolegal cases, underpinned by integrity, accuracy, and compassion. Samantha has completed the Bond Solon course “Excellence in report writing” and understands her responsibilities under Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) pertaining to expert witnesses. Sam accepts instructions from both claimant and defendant solicitors and insurers.
Katie Christie
Consultant Midwife | Professional Midwifery Advocate | Expert Witness
Katie is a highly experienced consultant midwife with over 20 years working across NHS maternity services. She specialises in intrapartum care in all clinical settings, with a particular focus on supporting women and families in developing complex birth plans and ensuring safe, high-quality maternity care.
Katie has held senior leadership roles within maternity services, most recently at East Kent Maternity NHS Trust, where she supports the Maternity and Neonatal Improvement Programme and contributes to cultural change within multidisciplinary teams. Prior to this, Katie worked at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, where she held diverse roles including labour ward coordinator, clinical skills facilitator, labour ward lead, and ultimately consultant midwife.
Katie has an MSc in healthcare and is a qualified practice educator with extensive experience teaching clinical skills to midwifery students, qualified midwives, medical students and junior doctors.
Katie is also a member of the British Intrapartum Care Society and has additional training in OPTIBREECH practice, reflecting her commitment to evidence-based, innovative care. Katie was shortlisted for the Nursing Times “Midwife of the Year” 2025 award in recognition of her professional impact and contributions to maternity improvement. Katie is also qualified to perform Newborn Initial Physical Examination – an advanced midwifery skill.
At Kelly Parker Medicolegal, Katie combines her extensive clinical background, leadership experience, and deep understanding of safety investigation to provide impartial, evidence-based expert opinion in medicolegal cases, underpinned by integrity, accuracy, and compassion. Katie has completed the Bond Solon course “Excellence in report writing” and understands her responsibilities under Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) pertaining to expert witnesses. Katie accepts instructions from both claimant and defendant solicitors and insurers.
Lotta Butler BSc (Hons)
Experienced Midwife | Educator | Expert Witness | Neonatal Examiner
Lotta is an experienced NHS midwife whose career since 2015 has spanned all areas of maternity care, including hospital, community, and education settings. Her clinical experience has spanned working across three large maternity units in the Southeast and London, providing care to both high-risk and low-risk women, birthing people and families.
Lotta has a strong background in education and training, having held the role of Clinical Skills Facilitator, where she combined clinical practice with classroom-based teaching. In this role, she delivered multidisciplinary education to midwives, obstetricians, and other members of the maternity team, with a particular focus on emergency clinical skills, simulation training, and practical hands-on learning to enhance confidence and competence in real-world scenarios.
Lotta is a nationally accredited Newborn Life Support (NLS) Instructor with the Resuscitation Council UK, reflecting her ongoing commitment to improving patient safety and outcomes through education.
Lotta is currently working towards a Master's in Health Research (expected completion 2027), further strengthening her ability to integrate evidence-based practice into both clinical and educational contexts.
At Kelly Parker Medicolegal, Lotta brings her depth of clinical experience, passion for safety, and expertise in multidisciplinary training to provide clear, accurate, and impartial expert opinion in medicolegal cases. Her practice is grounded in integrity, learning, and the continuous pursuit of safer maternity care.
Emma Fleary
Senior Midwife | Professional Midwifery Advocate | Expert Witness | Neonatal Examiner
Emma is a senior NHS midwife with nearly 20 years of experience spanning the UK, private practice, and international settings. Since qualifying in 2006, she has developed comprehensive expertise across community midwifery, homebirth services, neonatal examination, and maternity care governance.
Emma currently serves in dual leadership positions at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation. Emma is the Lead Professional Midwifery Advocate for the Trust where she provides specialist support mentoring midwives through pivotal professional challenges and contributing to the upkeep clinical standards and patient safety in maternity services. Emma also holds a lead role in Midwifery recruitment, retention and pastoral support Trust, where she focuses on workforce wellbeing and development. Emma is also qualified to perform Newborn Initial Physical Examination – an advanced midwifery skill.
Emma's career also includes international midwifery practice at Corniche Hospital in Abu Dhabi, independent midwifery work in London, and homebirth services in specialist NHS teams. Her broad and diverse experience equips her with a unique perspective on maternity care
At Kelly Parker Medicolegal, Emma combines her midwifery knowledge, leadership experience, and deep understanding of midwifery care and practice to provide impartial, evidence-based expert opinion in medicolegal cases. Emma understands her responsibilities under Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) pertaining to expert witnesses. Emma accepts instructions from both claimant and defendant solicitors and insurers.
Hannah Horne
Head of Midwifery & Gynaecology | Professional Midwifery Advocate | Expert Witness
Hannah is a highly experienced senior midwife with over 20 years of practice across hospital and community settings. She has a proven track record in maternity leadership, service redesign, and clinical governance, with specialist expertise in complaint investigation, complex birth management, and strategic service delivery.
As Head of Midwifery and Gynaecology at East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust, Hannah holds overall responsibility for the operational and strategic delivery of maternity services. She ensures safe staffing, quality assurance, and compliance with national standards, while leading on high-profile clinical governance investigations and complex complaint management. She frequently represents the Trust in local and national forums and is an experienced report writer and public speaker.
Hannah's earlier roles include Deputy Head of Midwifery and Gynaecology, where she led the redesign of community services in line with national standards, and Community Midwifery Matron, where she championed service enhancement and personalised care.
Alongside her clinical leadership, Hannah collaborates with Birthrights as an expert midwifery trainer, skilfully integrating human rights law into maternity practice. She has also contributed to the development of national maternity policy and served as a visiting lecturer, receiving excellent feedback from both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Hannah holds an MSc in Public Health, a BSc in Midwifery Practice, and is a Professional Midwifery Advocate. She is currently undertaking a Professional Doctorate in Health at the University of Bath, further advancing her academic and professional contribution to the field. Her leadership and innovation have been recognised through multiple local, regional, and national award nominations.
At Kelly Parker Medicolegal, Hannah applies her extensive knowledge of midwifery practice, investigative expertise, and evidence-based approach to provide clear, impartial, and high-quality expert opinion in medicolegal cases. Hannah has completed the Bond Solon course “Excellence in report writing” and understands her responsibilities under Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) pertaining to expert witnesses. Hannah accepts instructions from both claimant and defendant solicitors and insurers.
Freya Priest
Lead Midwife | Labour Ward Coordinator | Neonatal Examiner | Expert Witness
Freya is a senior NHS midwife with nearly 20 years of continuous practice, combining frontline clinical expertise with leadership, education, and governance. Since qualifying in 2006, she has specialised in intrapartum care, labour ward coordination, and neonatal examination, alongside developing strong expertise in incident investigation, risk assessment, and evidence-based practice.
Freya is currently the Lead Midwife for the Midwifery Led Unit at Sheffield Teaching Hospital, where she oversees service delivery, team leadership, and improvement initiatives. She has also maintained her long-standing clinical leadership role as a labour ward coordinator since 2012, bringing extensive experience in leading multidisciplinary teams, ensuring safe staffing, managing complex cases, and advocating for personalised, rights-centred care.
Between 2019 and 2021, Freya served as Practice Development Midwife, responsible for the education of over 300 midwifery and obstetric staff members, CNST compliance, and the delivery of emergency skills training. Earlier in her career, she gained international experience in Zambia, working in rural maternal health and training traditional birth attendants.
Freya has previously given evidence at both coroners court and in family court.
At Kelly Parker Medicolegal, Freya applies her extensive knowledge of midwifery practice and care guidelines and delivers an evidence-based, clear, impartial, and high-quality expert opinion in medicolegal cases. Freya has completed the Bond Solon course “Excellence in report writing” and understands her responsibilities under Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) pertaining to expert witnesses. Freya accepts instructions from both claimant and defendant solicitors and insurers.
Lucy Simpson
Maternity Matron | Operational Manager | Expert Witness
Lucy is an experienced Inpatient Maternity Matron with over 13 years of dedicated service in midwifery and maternity care. She has worked in several trusts of differing sizes, serving a wide variety of patient needs and midwifery leadership challenges.
Lucy initially moved into a management position as Lead Midwife of a Birth Centre in a central London Trust. This role was very clinically focussed and required strong and credible midwifery skills/ Alongside this she also led a project to redesign a part of the service to meet the needs of a Continuity of Carer model. Following this Lucy moved into her current Inpatient Matron position which she has enjoyed for the last 4 years. Lucy leads a large maternity team that delivers thousands of babies per annum. Lucy is responsible for operational oversight and all maternity inpatient clinical pathways as well as staff performance and development.
With a strong commitment to safe, compassionate, and woman-centred practice, Lucy has led teams of midwives and healthcare professionals, ensuring the delivery of high-quality care and positive outcomes for mothers and babies. Her expertise spans both low- and high-risk maternity services, with particular strengths in clinical leadership, service development, risk management and workforce support.
As Maternity Matron, she is passionate about driving improvements in patient experience, staff wellbeing, and clinical excellence. She works closely with multidisciplinary teams to promote evidence-based practice, uphold national standards, and create a supportive, empowering environment for women, families, and staff alike. Lucy is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of midwives, sharing her knowledge and fostering a culture of professional growth and compassionate care.
At Kelly Parker Medicolegal, Lucy applies her extensive knowledge of midwifery practice and care guidelines to deliver evidence-based, clear, impartial, and high-quality expert opinion in medicolegal cases. Lucy has completed the Bond Solon course “Excellence in report writing” and understands her responsibilities under Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) pertaining to expert witnesses. Lucy accepts instructions from both claimant and defendant solicitors and insurers.
Heather Woods
Specialist Midwife in Maternal Medicine | Advanced Midwifery Practitioner | Expert Reviewer & Witness
Heather is a highly experienced senior midwife with over 15 years in NHS maternity services, specialising in the care of women with complex medical conditions in pregnancy. She is passionate about reducing maternal morbidity, improving health equity, and ensuring safe, evidence-based, and personalised maternity care.
Heather currently works as Specialist Lead Midwife for the Sussex Maternal Medicine Network at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, where she leads on service development, quality improvement, and regional data reporting for national maternity medicine standards. She also manages a specialist team of maternal medicine midwives and is an independent prescriber, reflecting her advanced clinical expertise.
In 2024, Heather was appointed as an Expert External Reviewer for the Falkland Islands Government, where she has independently reviewed maternity services, advised on future obstetric strategy and governance best practice. Heather has also provided expert evidence at coroners' court.
Heather holds a BSc (Hons) in Midwifery and an MSc in Advanced Practice. She has also held senior leadership roles in antenatal clinics and maternity assessment units, with proven experience guiding services through challenging times.
At Kelly Parker Medicolegal, Heather applies her extensive knowledge of midwifery practice to deliver evidence-based, clear, impartial, and high-quality expert opinion in medicolegal cases. Heather has completed the Bond Solon course “Excellence in report writing” and understands her responsibilities under Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) pertaining to expert witnesses. Heather accepts instructions from both claimant and defendant solicitors and insurers
Laura Spicer MSc, BSc (Hons)
Senior Maternity Matron | Governance & Patient Safety Specialist | Expert Witness | Neonatal Examiner
Laura is an accomplished senior maternity leader with over 18 years of experience across maternity and neonatal services. She has a proven record in transformational leadership, clinical governance, and risk management, with a particular focus on improving safety, quality, and equity within maternity care.
Throughout her NHS career, Laura has worked across large maternity units in the South East, progressing through leadership and governance roles that have shaped safer, more effective maternity systems. She currently serves as Head of Quality and Safety for Maternity, Gynaecology, and Neonatal Services, where she oversees risk management, patient safety, incident investigation, and service assurance in alignment with national standards.
Her expertise spans all aspects of clinical governance and patient safety leadership, including risk assessment, incident investigation, and the management of complex complaints. She has extensive experience in regulatory compliance, representation at coroners' inquests, and in- house medico-legal reviews. Laura is also highly skilled in service transformation, quality improvement, and the implementation of national safety programmes such as Saving Babies' Lives. Laura's leadership has also included roles such as Transformational Lead and Integrated Care Midwife at University Hospital Sussex NHS Trust, where she led major service improvement projects, digital transformation initiatives, and cross-system collaboration to improve outcomes and experiences for women and families.
She holds a BSc in Midwifery and has completed the esteemed Rosalind Franklin Programme with the NHS leadership academy strengthening her ability to lead an evidence-based and safe maternity service at both operational and strategic levels. Laura is also studying for an MSc in healthcare management.
Alice Heron BSc (Hons), PGCert
Lead Midwife for Education, Workforce & Retention | Newborn Life Support Instructor | Professional Midwifery Advocate | Expert Witness
Alice is an experienced and dedicated midwife, qualified since 2011, with a passion for education, workforce development, and evidence-based maternity care. Her career combines frontline clinical experience with strategic leadership in education and governance, ensuring that maternity services are safe, equitable, and compassionate for women, birthing people, and their families.
Alice currently serves as Lead Midwife for Education, Workforce, Recruitment and Retention at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, where she oversees the design and implementation of education strategies, workforce planning, and preceptorship programmes. She leads on professional development, mandatory training, and the integration of learning from practice into service improvement initiatives. Alice is also qualified as a Professional Midwifery Advocate – a role mentoring fellow midwives through professional challenges and career development.
Alices expertise spans midwifery education, training, and professional development, alongside extensive experience in workforce leadership, recruitment, and retention. She has a strong background in clinical governance, quality improvement, and reflective practice, with particular skill in teaching and facilitating learning across multidisciplinary teams.
Alice is a nationally accredited Newborn Life Support (NLS) Instructor with the Resuscitation Council UK and continues to deliver both local and national courses. Alice is also a qualified practice teacher and has her Postgraduate Certificate in Leading Practice Education.
Her extensive experience spans hospital and academic environments, including roles as Practice Development Midwife and Clinical Skills Facilitator at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, as well as Guest Lecturer in clinical midwifery education.
At Kelly Parker Medicolegal, Alice brings her deep understanding of clinical education, safety governance, and multidisciplinary teamwork to provide clear, objective, and evidence-based expert opinion in medicolegal cases.
Instruct an Expert Witness Today
To instruct a midwifery medicolegal expert or discuss your requirements, call us on 07577 231455 or email enquiries@kellyparkermedicolegal.com. Our litigation midwife specialists are ready to support your legal cases with professionalism and clarity.
