NHS 'still has too few midwives'

Workload pressures and stress are affecting recruitment, the RCM says

Too few midwives are joining the NHS, and pressure is making it hard to retain staff, midwifery leaders report.

The Royal College of Midwives' annual UK staffing survey says there has been a small increase in the numbers joining the service.

But it said it was disappointed that more progress had not been made.

However Health Secretary John Reid argued midwives were returning to practice and pay structures had been reformed.

We had hoped that midwifery recruitment and retention was further down the road to recovery Dr Karlene Davis, Royal College of Midwives

The RCM says an extra 10,000 midwives are needed in the NHS.

The survey found that long term vacancy rates, those lasting at least three months, have increased to 68% of the total number of vacancies up from 53%.

Overall, vacancy rates across UK are currently 5.2%, rising to 5.8% in England.

In London, there was a vacancy rates of almost 15%. Across the South East, the rate is almost 10%, while in the West Midlands vacancy rates are at almost 6%

In addition, three quarters of the UK's heads of midwifery said they were experiencing some level of staffing shortage.

The figure was 81% for units those in England.

Over a quarter of midwifery mangers said it had become harder to recruit and retain midwives over the past year, mainly because of heavy workloads and stress.

'More returning'

Dame Karlene Davies, General Secretary of the RCM, said: "We are working closely with government, and the extra resources they are committing to our profession are beginning to bear fruit.

"However this support must be both maintained and increased if all staffing problems are to be solved.

She added: "We had hoped that midwifery recruitment and retention was further down the road to recovery, yet there are still too few midwives working in parts of the UK and the rate of entry to the profession remains slow."

But Health Secretary John Reid said the government was on course to reach its target of increasing the number of midwives by 2,000 by 2006 from 2000 figures. He added that there were more midwives entering training.

He added: "The Department of Health has recorded a steady rise in the number of midwives that have returned to practice over the last three years and the RCM survey shows that more are returning too.

"Through the Agenda for Change reforms, we are improving pay and conditions which will encourage even more people to join and return to the profession.

"In 1997, a frontline midwife earned £18,500, but under the new reforms will earn over £29,000 - a 58% pay increase."

But Mary Newburn, of the National Childbirth Trust, said: "If we continue to see these high levels of midwife shortages, more and more women across the UK are going to be denied the care and support they need throughout their pregnancy, birth and post natal period.

"We know that one-to-one support helps to improve a women¿s birth experience by shortening labour, reducing interventions and improving their chances of having a straightforward birth."