MIDIRS Monthly – We need to talk about the Midwife Mental Health Crisis
By Rachel Housego on 28 April 2023 An Informal Introduction I am sitting here in a coffee shop, thinking about the profession, and the journey I began as a teenager, and it is with this hindsight (and a very large coffee) that I consider the ways in which midwifery has made me who I am […]
Midwives take maternity concerns to Scottish Parliament
Frontline maternity staff from across Scotland have taken their concerns about maternity care to the heart of the country’s political establishment. Midwives, maternity support workers (MSW), student midwives, midwifery educators and researchers met MSPs at a Royal College of Midwives (RCM) reception at the Scottish Parliament yesterday. They were able to talk directly to politicians […]
Scottish Government must act now to put more in maternity care
By Jackie Baillie MSP for Dumbarton, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care and Drugs Policy, and Scottish Labour Deputy Leader on 27 April 2023 Maternity Services RCM UK Midwives Midwifery Workforce Scottish Government Scottish Maternity Services Jackie Ballie, Member of the Scottish Parliament, writes for the RCM on the importance of […]
Midwives say yes to England NHS pay offer
Members of the RCM in England have voted to accept the latest NHS pay offer, following a consultation which closed yesterday. In a turnout of 48% of eligible RCM midwife and maternity support worker (MSW) members working in the NHS in England, 57% voted to accept the deal, with 43% rejecting. Alice Sorby, Director of […]
RCM to consult members on latest Welsh Government pay offer
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) will consult its members in Wales later this month on the Welsh Government’s latest pay offer for NHS staff. The consultation runs from 28 April to 15 May and the RCM is recommending its members accept. The consultation follows a new pay offer from the Welsh Government announced late […]
RCM calls for prioritisation of safe travel for NHS Scotland staff
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) says an overhaul of NHS staff parking permit allocations and safe and accessible public transport options is needed to support safer travel to work for NHS staff, the majority of whom are women. The call came in an RCM motion to the STUC Congress in Dundee this week. Almost all (99%) […]
First European Nursing and Midwifery Week
The European Nursing & Midwifery Week (#ENMW2023) was developed by EFNNMA, a collaborative organization of WHO Regional Office for Europe, to celebrate and recognise nurses and midwives in Europe. The European Nursing and Midwifery Week (5-12 May 2023) aims to: Advocate for nursing and midwifery and a more inclusive society across Europe Raise awareness and […]
To be or not to be, that’s the question
By Veronica Blanco Gutierrez, registered nurse and midwife on 18 April 2023 Maternity Services RCM UK Midwives Midwifery Workforce Research I write these lines on the train while on my way to University. I am Veronica, and I am a registered nurse and midwife. I am currently undertaking a full-time PhD at the University of […]
Government must invest in staff and services to deliver better maternity care for Black and Asian women says RCM
Investment and resources must be targeted towards reducing poorer outcomes for Black women in maternity care as a matter of urgency. That’s the message from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) responding to a report from the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee on Black maternal health published today. Gill Walton, Chief Executive of the […]
Group B Strep in Pregnancy & Babies Conference
On Wednesday 17 May 2023, Group B Strep Support will be holding a one-day virtual Group B Strep Pregnancy & Babies conference. Group B Strep is the most common cause of severe infection in newborn babies, and of meningitis in babies under 3 months. FREE bursary places currently available: – FREE bursary places to student midwives […]