Staffing shortages prompt fears for maternity departments

The Royal College of Midwives has warned that the safety of maternity services is under serious threat, with eight in ten midwives not believing that their NHS trust has enough staff to operate a safe service.

The RCM survey shows that services are already stretched almost to breaking point, with 42 per cent of midwives reporting that half of shifts are understaffed, and a third saying there are very significant gaps in most shifts.

These shortages are taking their toll on midwives and maternity support workers, with morale at rock-bottom. The RCM reports that 71 per cent have considered leaving the profession, while over a third are seriously thinking about it.

Targets set in 2010 by Prime Minister David Cameron to increase the number of midwives by 3,000 have failed to materialise 10 years on. Instead many trusts are having to operate a ‘make do and mend’ service that relies on staff working beyond their contracted hours. That overtime is often unpaid, with the RCM’s survey finding that 63 per cent of midwives are working beyond their contracted hours for no additional pay. In light of this, it is unsurprising that just two per cent said they felt valued by the government.

Gill Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “These are dedicated professionals caring for women, babies and their families through the enormous pressures of the pandemic. They are being pushed to the edge by the failure of successive governments to invest in maternity services. Maternity staff are exhausted, they’re demoralised and some of them are looking for the door. For the safety of every pregnant woman and every baby, this cannot be allowed to continue.

“Midwives and maternity support workers are incredibly resilient, and it saddens and angers me to see the system crushing that indomitable spirit. They come into the profession to support women and families through a life-changing time in their lives. They come into the profession to provide safe, high quality care. The legacy of under-funding and under-investment is robbing them of that – and worse still, it’s putting those women and families at risk.

“It shouldn’t have taken a global pandemic to shine a light on these issues. We are saying to policy-makers, stop kicking the can down the road. Fund maternity services now, fund them properly, and give staff the resources and support they need before we lose more of them, cutting even deeper into the ability of maternity and the NHS to ensure safe services and the best care.”