RCM gives cautious welcome to additional clinical placement funds from HEE
on 27 August 2020 RCM Student midwives Education Covid-19
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) welcomes the announcement by Health Education England (HEE) of an additional £15 million to support more NHS clinical placements for midwifery, nursing and the allied health professions. The RCM has been calling for more support for students in clinical placements for some time.
Carmel Lloyd, Head of Education at the RCM, said: “We are pleased to see this investment, but it will be spread thinly across a lot of different professions, and we need to see the details of what it actually means on the ground. Clinical placements are a crucial part of the training for student midwives and increasing student numbers will require more clinical teachers and supervisors to support them in practice. We also need to ensure that more students in clinical placement do not put additional strain on stretched maternity services still dealing with the pandemic.”
According to HEE this is a 50 per cent increase on previously pledged funds and will support the expansion across all health professions undergraduate programmes this September. The money will be available through its Clinical Placement Expansion Programme
Carmel Lloyd added: “All of this needs to be properly planned to ensure that students continue to receive a high quality practice placement experience, and they are able to achieve the proficiencies required to practise as a midwife. You cannot pour more students into placements without ensuring they are fully supported and supervised when they are there.”
ENDS
To contact the RCM media office call 020 7312 3456 or email [email protected]. Notes to Editors
More information about the announcement can be read at https://www.hee.nhs.uk/news-blogs-events/news/funding-boost-clinical-placements-growth-teaching.
The RCM is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team. We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences and online resources. For more information visit the RCM website at https://www.rcm.org.uk/.