March With Midwives highlights extent of maternity crisis in UK
THE M.E.N. article on the well-attended March With Midwives Vigil on Sunday, November 21, described well the pressures midwives are currently facing, and especially the distress midwives experience at not being able to provide optimal care for mothers and babies due to short staffing.
I would like to expand upon two points for your readers.
The Department of Health (DH) at the end of your article responds by stating ‘there are more midwives working in the NHS now than at any other time in its history.’
This is misleading, as the number of midwives on the Nursing and Midwifery Council Register (39,664) includes many midwives who are not practising (e.g. in research, as lecturers, as health visitors, on sick leave, etc).
The actual number of midwives working in the NHS – according to NHS Digital in July 2021 – was 26,556 (head count) but only 21,492 whole-time equivalents. This is a decrease of 148 from the previous year. More and more midwives are changing to part-time working because of the stresses of working in an understaffed and underfunded service.
The DH spokesperson further states ‘and we are aiming to hire 1,200 more with a £95 million recruitment drive.’
This money (if it ever materialises) would be far better used to increase midwives’ pay and improve conditions. As a retired midwifery educator, I can testify that there is no shortage of recruits coming into midwifery – the problem is retaining them in the service.
In 2018, RCM chief executive Gill Walton said: “It is of deep concern that we’re only seeing an increase of about one NHS midwife for every 30 or so newly-qualified midwives graduating from our universities... so many existing midwives are leaving the service that the two things almost cancel each other out.”
Our campaign offers workable solutions to the crisis and we will not be fobbed off with platitudes and empty promises. The future health of mothers and babies is at stake.
Find out more about the MarchWithMidwives Campaign at https://www.facebook.com/groups/marchwithmidwivesuk/about
Sarah Davies, retired senior lecturer in midwifery, Salford