Chair of the Maternity Transformation Programme says not enough midwives
By RCM on 23 March 2018 Midwife Shortage
Yesterday (22nd March) Sarah-Jane Marsh, chair of the Maternity Transformation Programme, NHS England, speaking at the Westminster Health Forum Keynote Seminar in London, said; ‘We simply do not have enough midwives for the job we are trying to do.' She also said: 'I don't think we've got sufficient midwives, I don't think we've trained enough midwives. We've made that point and I think that it's been accepted, and now we need to work through how we do those increases.'
Commenting Suzanne Tyler, Director for Services to Members at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), said: “I am really pleased that the shortage of midwives has now officially been recognised and at such a senior level. Every day maternity units up and down the country are struggling to maintain safe and high quality services for women. Their aspirations to be even better are seriously curtailed by the lack of staff.
“That maternity units remain safe is down to the hard work of midwives and maternity support workers many regularly working long beyond their shift. I am pleased that the voices of midwives and women about the need to increase staffing have been heard.
“The RCM looks forward to more news about how this shortage is going to be addressed. We are totally supportive of Better Births and are relieved that our calls for the right number of staff to do the job have been heard.”
The speech was reported on the RCM website news section: More Midwives Needed for Better Births.
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