North East could face a midwife shortage
A new report show nearly 60% are looking to leave their profession
The North East could see a shortage of midwives, as many are being driven out of the NHS by understaffing and fears that they can’t deliver safe care to women in the current system, according to a new survey from the Royal College of Midwives.
A report released today from the Royal College of Midwives reveals that nearly 60% of their members are looking to leave the profession next year, and that 5% have already left.
Lynne Galvin from the Northern branch of the union tells Greatest Hits Radio that increasing work loads and unfair pay are driving staff away.
Lynne said: "The 3% pay rise that was given by the Government this year certainly doesn't go far enough to address the lack of pay rises in the last 10 years. That has not been well received by our members, and we will continue to lobby for a decent pay rise for our members.
"We have them working extra shifts, we have them working without breaks, and that takes it's toll in terms of burnout and moral. We've all seen in our survey reports that burnout is evident and moral is definitely low."
The report shows that 84% of those surveyed are not happy with staffing levels and that 67% are not satisfied with the quality of care they are able to deliver.
Additionally, 92% of the midwives feel as though they are not valued by the Government, and 54% do not feel valued by their employer.
The Royal College of Midwives General Secretary and Chief Executive, Gill Watson, said: 'What these numbers suggest is a midwife exodus, which will leave already-struggling services on their knees.
'Quite rightly, there is a strong focus on improving maternity safety, but there is a risk that the Government is ignoring the essential ingredient to that: having the right staff, in the right place.'
Lynne Galvin said: "Essentially, services are often suspended and home births are cancelled because midwives are being moved back into the main units that are understaffed. Women are sometimes diverted to other units, which has an impact on those units as well."
Back in July a report was published by NHS Digital which revealed that the number of NHS midwives working in England in May had fallen by almost 300 in just two months.