The Royal College of Midwives has today responded to the Auditor General’s NHS in Scotland 2024 report with caution, acknowledging the recognition from Government that prevention is key but adding that urgent action is needed to make the ambitions a reality.
In general, the RCM supports the Auditor General’s report, which states the Scottish Government needs a delivery plan that clearly explains to the public how it will reform the NHS and address the pressures on services.
Jaki Lambert, Director of RCM Scotland, said:
“As midwives, we always treat the woman in front of us, not the one we’d like to see. The same has to be true of the NHS as a whole. The NHS has to treat women as they are and where they are, which means providing woman-centred care, whether in hospitals or in the community, so we can improve outcomes and effectiveness.
“This means supporting midwives to undertake a public health role and ensuring the right workforce is in place with bases within the community to bring care to families where they are.”
During the opening of the Scottish Parliament earlier this year and again at the RCM’s Strategic Midwifery Leadership (SMiLE) conference last Friday, the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Neil Grey, spoke of the Scottish Government’s vision for midwifery as a sustainable public service in meeting population needs.
He also spoke of his commitment to standing up for midwifery in the face of some challenging and negative media over the last few years in the UK but, according to the RCM, the reality that midwives are facing includes a loss of community bases, resources from community services being drawn into acute services and the most vulnerable families being impacted by the increase in centralisation of services.
Jaki continued:
“We appreciate and support the aspiration for prevention and the vision on delivering value-based health and care. Midwifery is well placed to support this delivery but the focus on acute and reactive care will not make this a reality, particularly when considering that research shows the greatest return of investment is in the prebirth and early years.”
ENDS
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NOTES TO EDITORS
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team. We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance, and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences, and online resources. For more information visit the RCM | A professional organisation and trade union dedicated to serving the whole midwifery team.
