Gemma Poole, a dedicated midwife and entrepreneur, blends innovation and education to champion health equity for underrepresented communities.
- The Essential Baby Company Ltd aims to create a world where every mother and caregiver, regardless of background, has access to equitable healthcare education and resources, ensuring safer pregnancies, healthier babies, and empowered communities capable of driving systemic change.
- Gemma’s innovations underpin the objectives of CORE 20 PLUS 5, actively addressing healthcare inequalities within underrepresented communities.
- The Essential Baby Co in the Community CIC is a not-for-profit organisation supporting diverse communities through a hub of collaborative projects offering comprehensive support to families during the crucial stages of pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenthood.
Gemma Poole is a registered midwife and CEO of both The Essential Baby Company Ltd and The Essential Baby Co in the Community CIC. She is also the Patient and Public Lead for Deep Medical, a Core 20+5 Ambassador, a Maternity User Researcher, and an Ambassador for the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme.
Gemma is a lifelong advocate for vulnerable and underserved communities.
Frustrated by inadequate and exclusionary antenatal care, she has taken action by creating accessible environments. Gemma develops, distributes, and delivers co-produced inclusive tools to educate, inform, and advocate for underrepresented communities and healthcare professionals. Her ultimate goal is to ensure safer pregnancies and healthier outcomes for everyone, regardless of skin tone, language, education, living status, or economics.
‘Providing a bridge between underrepresented communities and healthcare, for safer pregnancies and healthier babies’- The Essential Baby Company.
Gemma’s passion for innovation began at a young age. At just 18, she launched her first business, a home shopping service for the elderly, aimed at reducing social isolation. Her dedication to well-being and problem-solving then led her to become a midwife. However, during her student midwife training, Gemma encountered significant challenges in both the classroom and practice. She observed that the workforce struggled to support underrepresented communities due to time constraints, lack of skills, and insufficient resources. These barriers resulted in communication difficulties, inadequate care, and ultimately, health inequalities.
Motivated by these challenges and extensive research, Gemma founded The Essential Baby Company Ltd with a mission to empower underrepresented communities by providing culturally inclusive, evidence-informed education that advocates for safer pregnancies and healthier babies, particularly for women and birthing parents with Black or Brown skin tones. Gemma also collaborates with various businesses and services to organise place-based workshops in the community. These workshops bring together health, social, and community services, creating a one-stop shop for women and birthing people. With this idea, Gemma successfully secured a place on Cohort 6 of the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme (CEP).
During her first year on the programme, the CEP supported Gemma in transforming her initial concept of delivering online antenatal education classes from her front room into a vision for large-scale transformation in maternity care. The programme provided Gemma with the space and confidence to embrace her role as an innovator, placing her in an environment that enables relationship-building and networking, and offering opportunities to connect with fellow innovative clinicians, change-makers, and NHS leaders. This support empowered her to amplify the impact of her innovation and expand her reach.
“I wanted to be in a space where I was surrounded by inspirational, innovative people who could open doors for me to address these inequalities. The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme provided that, and it’s been absolutely incredible.”
Gemma Poole
Through this network, Gemma has established several collaborations, including with Royal Mail Health, which she connected with through her mentoring relationship with Stef Kulik, Managing Director at Royal Mail Health. The organisation partners with healthcare companies to expand healthcare access across the UK and has sponsored The Essential Baby Co’s Black Baby Loss module, a free resource aimed at providing culturally sensitive baby loss support and improving maternity care for Black and Brown skin communities.
Gemma has also collaborated closely with fellow Clinical Entrepreneurs to drive significant change. These include working with Dr Benyamin Deldar, Co-Founder of Deep Medical, to ensure future AI healthcare solutions address the deeper causes of health inequalities, and partnering with Dr Michael Watts, Co-Founder and CEO of Blüm Health Ltd, Dr Julian Nesbitt, Founder of Dr Julian, and consultant psychiatrist Dr Faith Ndebele to identify mental health gaps in maternity services and address disparities in perinatal mental health.
‘Black women remain 4 times as likely to die during pregnancy, birth and postpartum period and Asian women are twice as likely to die.’- MBBRACE
Gemma recognised the need for a systematic approach to support underrepresented communities and the importance of direct user engagement and feedback. To address these gaps, Gemma established the haPPIE™ Research Group—a cornerstone initiative aimed at eliminating healthcare disparities. The group focuses on amplifying the invisible voices of society in research, innovation, product design, and service delivery, paving the way for accessible and effective solutions.
The positive feedback from these sessions inspired the creation of the haPPIE™ Academy, which provides members with the opportunity to produce community assets such as booklets, podcasts, films, and blogs. These resources disseminate crucial information within marginalised communities to reduce health inequalities. This innovative approach also creates a sense of belonging through reliable, relatable, and engaging materials.
Gemma experienced gaps and biases in medical education as a student midwife. She recognised the importance of connecting these educational shortcomings to the disparities seen within maternity services. Through a network of service leaders, innovators, and healthcare professionals, the haPPIE™ Collaborators platform provides a safe space for healthcare professionals to learn, challenge outdated practices, and promote equitable care.
Through her connections on the CEP, Gemma has collaborated with several Clinical Entrepreneurs, including Dr Rachael Grimaldi, Co-Founder of CardMedic; Saran Muthiah, Founder and CEO of EnrichMyCare; Ghalib Khan, Co-Founder of Written Medicine; and Ruby Jackson, Founder of Melantal, as haPPIE collaborators.
Leveraging her expertise and connections, Gemma reinvests income generated from speaking engagements, collaborations, training sessions, and events through The Essential Baby Company Ltd into her not-for-profit organisation. This self-sustaining model aligns with her mission to reduce healthcare inequalities, engage more community members, and amplify the voices of those underrepresented in maternity care.
“The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme has transformed my life.” – Gemma Poole
Gemma’s journey on the CEP has supported her transformation into a confident and influential advocate for reducing maternity inequalities through innovation. Her passion for promoting inclusivity drives her to continuously seek new opportunities and connections within the NHS CEP network and beyond, aiming to make a significant impact.
In addition, the programme has encouraged Gemma to stay within the NHS, as it provides her with the platform and flexibility to own her businesses and transform patient care while still working as a midwife.
“The programme has supported me to stay within the NHS as I now realise my worth as a midwife, and how I can give back to the community to ensure we grow together. My ultimate goal is to return to being solely a midwife once I am sure I can deliver equitable care to everyone who uses maternity services.”
Gemma Poole
Gemma also supports and advises fellow Clinical Entrepreneurs on addressing health inequalities within their innovations. She works with Dr Nick Gompertz, Founder of EarSwitch, and CEP partners Havas Lynx to amplify patients’ voices and explore pulse oximetry discrepancies across different skin tones.
“The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme (CEP) is fantastic. The team is supportive, approachable, and has helped me during times of need. This programme has given me access to key contacts who influence change, innovation networks, and opportunities for collaboration. It has made me believe that I can actually make a difference.
Nowhere else offers such personalised support for innovators within the NHS. I feel protected, supported, and confident that no question is a silly question. Knowing that I can change policy and improve patient outcomes is the biggest highlight ever.
All midwives are innovators; we are closest to the problem. Given the right support and opportunity, we know how to use innovation to challenge the status quo and improve patient outcomes.”
Gemma Poole
In 2023, Gemma became the first midwife to host the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme’s annual End-of-Year Event and was named one of its first ambassadors in 2024. In this role, she provides peer support to new entrepreneurs, promotes the programme, and supports events.
“Before I became an ambassador, I was a huge advocate for the programme, so this role fit me perfectly. I love this programme so much, and I am really passionate about spreading the word to healthcare professionals and patients.
It’s a programme that re-energises you in your NHS career and gives you that permission to make a difference. You feel seen and you are learning alongside other inspirational individuals, where you may even form collaborations and projects together. The programme aims to elevate you on your journey, and if the individual succeeds, our whole community succeeds.”
Gemma Poole
Looking to the future
As Gemma looks to the future, the teams next steps involve updating the haPPIE™ Academy learning platform to continue driving initiatives that impact maternal health. They will focus on expanding partnerships, securing further funding, and scaling The Essential Baby Company Ltd to ensure culturally sensitive digital and community-based resources reach a broader audience.
“A key ask would be for innovators to use grassroots organisations like the haPPIE Research Group for their Patient and Public Involvement and Evaluation or to collaborate with The Essential Baby Company Ltd to improve our commercial viability. This support would help us to ensure long-term sustainability and maximise positive outcomes for the communities we aim to serve- Thank you.“
Gemma Poole
For more information, please click on the links below.
*References: