19.10.16
Staffing shortages most common reason for midwives exodus
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has issued another warning over staff shortages as it found that they are the most common reason for midwives to leave the profession.
The RCM surveyed over 2,000 midwives who had left the profession in the past two years or were planning to leave in the next two. Among midwives who had already left the profession, 52% said they left because of staffing levels at work.
This was followed by 48% who weren’t happy with the quality of care they had to give, nearly two-fifths left because of the workload, 35% didn’t feel supported by their manager, and nearly a third weren’t happy with their working conditions.
Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the RCM, said: “Maternity services are performing as well as they are on the backs of the selfless dedication of midwives and other maternity staff, and their capacity to go that extra mile for mothers and babies, day after day. However, this shows that many cannot fight that battle any longer.
“Enormous demands are being made on midwives and the services they work for, yet investment in these services from the government remains inadequate to provide the quality of care that women deserve.”
Midwives who were currently in the profession reported even more severe workforce problems, with 62% not happy with staffing levels.
Current midwives expressed higher rates of dissatisfaction across the board. In total, 52% were not happy with quality of care, and 46% said their workload was too high. In addition, 30% said they weren’t happy with the model of care they were working in.
The NHS is facing a shortage of 3,500 midwives, which the RCM said this week could be filled if it directed agency spending towards hiring new full-time midwives.
The survey also found that only a third of respondents said they would recommend midwifery as a career, and less than a fifth of midwives who have left said they would consider returning. However, 27% of midwives considering leaving said they might stay.
Appropriate staffing levels was the most common factor that midwives said would encourage them to return, with backing from 88% of former midwives and 95% of those considering leaving.
Furthermore, although 65% of respondents said midwifery was valued by the public, only 35% thought it was valued by their current or former employer, and only 9% said it was valued by the government.
The RCM said that all NHS organisations should review their maternity staffing levels. In addition, it said the government should abolish the 1% NHS pay cap and re-think plans to abolish bursaries for student midwives, nurses and other health professionals.
(Image c. David Jones from the Press Association)
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