Fellow's Profile
Deborah Pinkerton-Holmes
Fellow's Profile
Deborah Pinkerton-Holmes
Nurture Clinic is a perinatal substance use model, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland
Fellowship
- Themes
- Focus
-
Improving care for pregnant women affected by substance use and their babies
- Countries
- Fellowship year
-
2026
- Locality
-
Northern Ireland
Contact
Biography
I am an advanced nurse practitioner in addiction services and Co-Lead of the Nurture Clinic, a specialist nurse- and midwife-led service supporting pregnant women affected by substance use in Northern Ireland. I have worked alongside people facing some of life's most complex challenges, including trauma, addiction and social disadvantage.
Every day, I see the difference that compassionate, non-judgemental care can make for women and their babies. I also see the barriers many face when seeking help. My Fellowship will explore innovative approaches to perinatal substance use care in Australia, the USA and the Netherlands, learning from services that have successfully reduced stigma and improved outcomes through integrated, relationship-based care.
I hope to bring this learning home to strengthen services across Northern Ireland, using the Nurture Clinic as a springboard for wider change. By sharing best practice, supporting staff development and influencing service design, I want to help create a system where women affected by substance use are treated with dignity, understanding and hope, giving more families the opportunity to thrive.
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
