England is facing a new baby boom – and hospitals are not gearing up to meet it, midwives claimed today.
The government is set to pump millions into maternity services. But midwife leaders say it will not be enough without new staff.
New figures show that 4,600 more babies were born in England in the first three months of this year than in 2011.
The Royal College of Midwives, which holds its annual conference this week, said England was heading for the largest number of births in more than 40 years.
The college said midwife numbers were already failing to keep pace with increasing birth rates.
Its surveys showed that many midwifery departments, about 25% in total, have faced budget cuts in the last year and student midwife numbers are being cut in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The RCM says many newly qualified midwives are struggling to find work – with a third not finding a job.
Government sources said at the weekend some £25 million is to be set aside to finance improvements in maternity services.
RCM general secretary Cathy Warwick said: "What is so frustrating is that there is a clear need for more midwives. We have record-breaking birth figures, and we need all the midwives we can get.
"We’re training midwives, but we’re not recruiting them. That is a sad waste of all their time and effort, and a waste of taxpayers’ money too."
She added: "£25 million is a relatively small sum compared to the annual budget for maternity services of around £2.5 billion.
"However it will help to make changes to the environment which can improve care and the fact that women are going to be part of the process of deciding how the money will be spent is very positive."
Leave a Reply