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Midwifery leaders have welcomed plans for the government and NHS to invest millions in birth safety, including increased recruitment and training of midwives, announced this week in the 2024 Spring Budget.
On Wednesday (March 6), UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt outlined the UK government’s plans for the next financial year.
“We all have a responsibility to ensure women and families receive safe, high-quality maternity care”
Jill Walton
Measures include cuts to National Insurance and funding to improve NHS “productivity”, such as overhauling IT services and implementing artificial intelligence.
Spring budget documents also show that the British government and NHS England will invest £35 million over three years to “improve maternity safety across England”; although it is not clear whether this is all new funding.
The newspaper said the money would be used to fund measures including the creation of 160 new midwife positions.
In addition, £9 million will be spent on the Avoid Brain Injury in Birth program to help maternity services reduce avoidable brain injuries in newborns.
An unspecified amount of the £35m will be used to train 6,000 midwives in neonatal resuscitation and “almost double” the number of clinical staff trained in specialist obstetric medicine.
The budget document also states that part of the £35 million will be used to fund and support the Maternal and Newborn Voices Partnership, which aims to improve the way maternal feedback is delivered.
Jill Walton, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), said she was “delighted” the government was taking action on birth safety.
“We all have a responsibility to ensure women and families receive safe, high-quality maternity care,” Ms Walton said.
“One of the most effective ways to do this is to make sure we retain our existing staff and make sure they get the training they need.
“Midwives do not work in isolation and multi-professional working plays a vital role in providing high quality care to mothers and their babies.”
She added that both the RCM and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG) believe that ongoing training of staff is a “key component” of safe maternity care.
Ms Walton said: “We look forward to discussing with the Secretary of State the practical implications of the budget announcement in the coming weeks.”
Mr Hunt has earmarked £3.4bn for NHS “productivity”, including an enhanced NHS patient app and a new staff scheduling app.
Ms Walton, head of the RCM, said midwives would welcome the change and was optimistic it might improve flexibility for staff who need it.
“We have long believed that flexible working in the NHS is vital to improving retention rates for midwives and maternity support staff,” she said.
Commenting on the budget, RCOG chairperson Dr Ranee Thakar said: “In maternity services, multidisciplinary teams excel at working together to deliver high quality care.
“However, the unavoidable reality is that maternity services are under significant pressure, so we welcome this much-needed investment in maternity staffing and training, which will help retain our skilled maternity workforce and improve care. “
The budget does not include plans to cancel student debt for nurses or midwives, despite calls from professional bodies and universities.
The RCM today (7 March) asked the Government to give UK midwifery students equal treatment to their counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to introduce provision for free midwifery education.
It wants midwives to pay their tuition fees in exchange for post-qualification work in the NHS, as well as a non-repayable bursary of £10,000 a year.
In addition, it said debt relief should be introduced for midwives affected by the loss of bursaries in England in 2017.
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