The RCM’s e-petition calling on the government to recruit the equivalent of an extra 5000 midwives into the NHS in England has now attracted the support of a colossal 26,000 people. This is just over a quarter of the way to the 100,000 mark, which it must hit to trigger a full debate in the House of Commons. If you have not already signed then please go online and take a look (see the further information panel for the web address). If you support this call for more midwives, then please also publicise it to your friends, family and colleagues, by email, Facebook, Twitter and whatever other ways are open to you. We have made great progress, but we need to keep it up.
There is also another petition in support of midwives doing the rounds at the moment, but it is one only open to MPs to sign. It is what is technically known as an Early Day Motion (EDM), and it was tabled by Liberal Democrat MP for North Cornwall, Dan Rogerson. As I write, the motion has been signed by 54 MPs from across the political spectrum. You can view it online (see the further information panel for the web address). Not all MPs can sign EDMs (for example, government ministers) and some others choose not to sign them, but why not see if your MP would be willing to back midwives in this way? If you want to do this, you can contact your MP quickly and easily using the
www.writetothem.com website, asking them to sign ‘EDM 2459 (Midwifery in the NHS)’. If you do not have internet access, then you can still write to your MP at the House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.
A total of 24 MPs and members of the House of Lords – Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat – attended the official launch of the RCM’s new parliamentary panel, in the House of Commons at the end of last year. This informal group of parliamentarians will work with us to raise issues important to maternity services and midwives. Indeed after speaking to Lord Patel, an independent peer, at the event, he spoke about midwifery shortages in the House of Lords a few days later in a speech that secured coverage in the
Daily Mail.
The event also saw the launch of the RCM’s first annual
State of maternity services report. This gives an overview of maternity services in each of the four UK countries. The report secured widespread press attention, including coverage in the
Daily Mail, the
Guardian,
Metro, and
The Sun, among a whole host of other national and local newspapers. A number of MPs who were at the launch also issued press releases about it to their local media outlets. In addition to highlighting the midwife shortage in England and the newly emerged shortage in Wales, the report also highlighted the large rise in the number of older women giving birth in recent years. The report seeks to inform the political debate on maternity care.
To sign the RCM’s e-petition, please
click here.
Please
click here to view Dan Rogerson’s EDM.
To download a copy of the RCM’s
State of maternity services report, please
click here.
