‘Midwives are working under extreme pressure’, RCM general secretary Cathy Warwick says in a Panorama investigation into the risks to mothers and babies caused by chronic midwife shortages to be aired tonight (25 July) at 20.30 on BBC One.
One born every 40 seconds reveals how the numbers of births that midwives have to deal with exceeds recommended levels in most areas in the UK. The programme contacted every maternity unit in the UK – 171 in total – and received replies from 88%. It found that the average ratio in England is one midwife for every 32 births, whereas the RCM recommends 28 births to every midwife.
The highest ratios in trusts and health boards were Aneurin Bevan, Wales (46.7), West Middlesex University Hospital, London (43.88) and Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals, South East Coast, (43.59).
‘From staff shortages to ward closures, the results paint a worrying picture of a service stretched to breaking-point in some hospitals,’ says the programmes’ teaser, which also points out that the UK’s rank as one of the highest in the developed world for stillbirth rates and the soaring cost of negligence claims against the NHS for mistakes made during labour.
It includes interviews with families who feel their care was tragically compromised by staff who did not have the time to give the care they should have, and reports on the high numbers of maternal deaths in London trusts in 2009. An NHS London investigation concluded that 17 out of the 42 deaths could have been avoided.
Commenting on the report, Cathy said: ‘I have real fears that we are teetering on the brink and that safety is in some places compromised and at risk in others because of the pressures on midwives and maternity services. Midwives cannot go on delivering safe and high quality care working under such intense pressures day after day.’
The RCM estimates that at least 4700 more midwives are needed in England to keep pace with the 22% surge in births since 2001.
‘It is now imperative that the government commits to ensuring adequate numbers of midwives in the workplace…The statistics speak for themselves. Midwives have already delivered productivity that is required of all of us if we are to weather the economic crisis. They now need help if they are to maintain standards and ensure women and babies get the care they deserve.’
