logo
Ministers urged to guarantee NHS jobs for new midwives amid understaffing

Ministers urged to guarantee NHS jobs for new midwives amid understaffing

The Guardian4 days ago
A student midwife who fears she will be unable to get a job after completing 2,300 hours of unpaid placement work in the NHS is calling for guaranteed posts for newly qualified midwives who otherwise will be forced to abandon the profession before their careers begin.
Aimee Peach, 43, is due to complete her training next summer, but says the promise of a job at the end of her three-year degree course has 'collapsed', despite severe shortages of midwives across the country.
'It is a waste of talent, training and public money, and the consequences will be felt by families across the country,' she said.
'There are so many of us that just want to work as midwives after three years of gruelling training, but we're having to face the fact that, after all this, there may be only a handful of jobs available.'
Last month, a survey by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) found that eight out of 10 student midwives due to qualify this year were not confident of finding a job after graduating despite understaffing in maternity care. Some services have had to close temporarily due to unsafe levels of staffing. According to the RCM, funding cuts and recruitment freezes have tied the hands of midwifery managers who are desperate to hire staff.
Fiona Gibb, the RCM's director of midwifery, said: 'Report after report cites understaffing as a factor in the delivery of safe care, and midwives consistently share with us that there are too few of them to deliver the best care they know they can.
'Despite this, midwifery graduates face uncertainty, with too few vacancies for them to begin work upon qualification … The new midwives who are now ready are finding that the jobs simply aren't there.'
Peach, from Bridgwater, Somerset, has combined academic study with on-the-job training and caring for her three children since beginning her midwifery degree. Student midwives must complete 2,300 hours of work placements and deliver 40 babies to qualify.
She had hoped the qualification would lead to a higher household income and good career prospects as well as pursuing her commitment to improving women's experience of pregnancy and birth.
'It's been a pretty hard couple of years, both physically and mentally, but I had a goal in sight. No one chooses midwifery to have a comfortable job – you have to have a passion for it,' she said.
That passion helped her through unpaid 12-hour shifts, sometimes at night. On occasion she has slept in the back of her car on her placement more than 80 miles from her home. 'After all this, we now face the scary prospect that we might not get jobs.'
Earlier this month, Peach wrote to her MP, Ashley Fox, to draw his attention to the problem. 'A recent national search for band 5 [newly qualified] midwifery roles revealed just four vacancies across England despite an estimated national shortage of over 2,500 midwives,' she wrote.
'I have witnessed first-hand the consequences of understaffing and burnout in maternity services, yet thousands of qualified professionals are unable to secure employment. There is no shortage of qualified midwives, only a shortage of funded positions.'
Peach asked Fox to back a call for guaranteed NHS jobs for newly qualified midwives, increased funding for maternity services and for student debt to be cancelled for healthcare workers who complete five years of continuous NHS service.
Fox replied saying he would seek an opportunity to raise the matter in parliament.
Gibb said: 'Having enough midwives, in the right places, with the right skills and training is fundamental to the safety improvements that are desperately needed across maternity services.
'We are calling on all four national UK governments to review their midwifery workforce planning approach and call a halt to the recruitment freezes that are preventing women and their families from receiving the care they need and deserve.'
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: 'Student nurses and midwives like Aimee are our future workforce and it is unacceptable that they are unable to find roles.
'NHS England has set up a dedicated programme of work with employers, educators and trade unions to address this.
'We will revise the workforce plan later this year, to ensure the NHS has the right people in the right place, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Fears for patient safety as resident doctors ready for strike
Fears for patient safety as resident doctors ready for strike

The Independent

time10 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Fears for patient safety as resident doctors ready for strike

Resident doctors from the British Medical Association are due to begin a five-day walkout on Friday in a dispute over pay, marking their 12th strike since March 2023. Professor Tim Briggs, NHS England national director, warned that the industrial action will harm patients, stressing doctors' primary duty to patient care. While the BMA cites pay as the reason, Professor Briggs suggested resident doctors' concerns are more focused on non-pay factors such as rotas, training bottlenecks, and funding for courses. NHS England plans to cover emergency services and some elective care, but the BMA argues this could put patients at risk as senior doctors cannot cover both emergency and routine demands. NHS England has advised the public to use 111 online for non-emergencies during the strike.

Huge change to Tesco Clubcards in fruit and veg campaign
Huge change to Tesco Clubcards in fruit and veg campaign

North Wales Live

time22 minutes ago

  • North Wales Live

Huge change to Tesco Clubcards in fruit and veg campaign

Tesco is launching a campaign to help families eat more fruit and veg, as Government figures show fewer than 1 in 10 children and 1 in 5 adults eat the recommended five-a-day. The campaign will run across Tesco stores and online to help incentivise customers to make healthier choices through offers and recipe inspiration. From 24 July, around 4 million customers will be invited to earn personalised Clubcard stamps on fresh fruit and veg, which can be converted into bonus Clubcard points and vouchers to spend in store. Millions of customers will also be able to earn extra points through new Clubcard Challenges on frozen fruit and veg, beans and pulses. New Clubcard Prices and offers will be available across the summer on fruit, veg and healthy lunchbox snacks, on top of weekly Fresh 5 offers on five-a-day basics. A revamped 5-a-day hub on the Tesco Real Food website will provide recipe ideas and inspiration. In addition, from 4-17 August, children shopping with their families in Tesco stores will be able to pick up free fruit at checkout. Tesco expects to give away over 3.5 million apples over two weeks. Ashwin Prasad, UK CEO, Tesco, said: 'We understand that for many, there are barriers that make healthy eating feel hard. We want to help our customers make small changes that amount to big health benefits for themselves and their families. That's why we're setting out to make healthy choices easier every day, starting with new offers and support for families in store this summer. We're bringing customers new ways to earn Clubcard points and vouchers as a fun and engaging way to help them towards their five-a-day, on top of new and existing great value offers on healthy staples.' Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said: 'Obesity has doubled since the 1990s and costs our NHS £11 billion a year. Unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable. But we can't do this alone. The declining health of the nation requires a national mission, working with all parts of our society – from industry to influencers – to reverse the decline and make sure that kids today grow up to be part of the healthiest generation ever. Our brilliant supermarkets already do so much work for our communities and are trying to make their stores heathier, and we want to work with them and other businesses to create a level playing field. 'I'm grateful to Tesco for picking up the mantle and helping tackle this crisis by making it easier and more affordable for families and kids to eat fresh fruit and veg. Our new healthy food standard – a world first announced in our 10 Year Health Plan – will help us make the shift from sickness to prevention through our Plan for Change, making sure the NHS can be there for us when we need it.' Elaine Hindal, CEO, British Nutrition Foundation, said: 'The most recent release of the UK National Diet & Nutrition Survey again underlined the need for urgent action to improve access to healthy and sustainable diets. Delivering the change we need, at pace and at scale, can only be achieved through effective partnership with all stakeholders. We are proud of our strong partnership with Tesco which, through the recent series of Health Consultations, uncovered new and valuable insights that will inform Tesco's commitment to healthier diets today and for future generations'.

The signs of postnatal depression to look out for
The signs of postnatal depression to look out for

The Independent

time39 minutes ago

  • The Independent

The signs of postnatal depression to look out for

Up to 85,000 new mothers in England may have been impacted by postnatal depression last year, according to new analysis by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych). The RCPsych warns that untreated postnatal depression, which affected almost 15 per cent of new mothers, can be 'truly devastating' and lead to the 'unnecessary' deaths of women and sometimes their babies. Maternal suicide is highlighted as the leading cause of death in women from six weeks to a year after birth. Symptoms can include persistent feelings of sadness, low mood, a lack of interest, trouble sleeping, and potentially thoughts of harming the baby. The RCPsych urges women and their partners to seek support for these treatable conditions, which can be managed with talking therapies or antidepressants, with medics assuring medication safety during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store