Health, Safety and wellbeing
We know that maternity care is an incredible but demanding job. Our personal and working life can affect our mental and physical health and it can be difficult to address our wellbeing when we’re not sure where to turn for help. This section of the website is dedicated to sharing useful resources that are available to you.
This content is for RCM Members only
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Physical and mental wellbeing
The RCM is a member of The NHS Staff Council’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Partnership Group (HSWPG) which works to raise standards of workplace health, safety, and wellbeing, promote a safer working environment and promote best practice.
Poor physical and mental wellbeing can make it difficult to cope with daily life and it is not always easy to pinpoint why we feel the way we do. These tabs contain links to some useful organisations and resources out there to help you take that first step of addressing health concerns and how it impacts you at work.
Useful resources
NHS Employers have provided clear guidance on emotional wellbeing at work which you can use to check what support should be available to you in the workplace and learn about steps you can take to improve or maintain your current mental health.
NHS England have also developed a health and wellbeing framework to help organisations to identify the health and wellbeing needs of staff, plan and deliver appropriate support and interventions, and evaluate their impact.
Explore five steps you can take to support your wellbeing in this research developed by the New Economics Foundation and learn how your mental health can be improved.
This toolkit from Mental Health at Work aims to support the wellbeing of healthcare workers.
The RCM have also produced publications for workers who are working with menopause, are pregnant at work and breastfeeding at work.
There are over 100 courses available on i-Learn, with a wide selection that can support you in improving health, safety and wellbeing at work.
Helpful charities
Addiction related charities
Gender based support charities
Charities supporting people from the global majority
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Bullying and harassment
Bullying and harassment at work is unacceptable, and yet those of us who experience it are often made to feel it’s our fault. Don’t be ashamed to tell people what’s going on – others may be experiencing it too. There are many ways to help stop bullying behaviour at work and a lot of paths you can take. We know it can be difficult to raise issues about people you work with, but your local RCM reps, with the support of their national or regional officer, are there to help you.
Supportive and compassionate working environments matter. Staff feel valued and listed to, that they can raise concerns, errors are reduced, stress is reduced, and safety improves. Here is some useful information from Civility Saves Lives.
We have also produced a toolkit on bullying in the workplace in collaboration with the The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Race Matters
Tackling racism is a challenge with many layers and complexities. We know that global majority maternity service workers experience differential treatment at work. Inclusion is about experience in the workplace and the wider society where you feel valued and included. We have produced a range of publications that aim to tackle prejudice and promote equality and diversity.
Find out more on our Race Matters initiative here.
Charities supporting people from the global majority
We define domestic abuse as an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner, but also by a family member or carer.
The RCM and Cavell Nurses’ Trust have set up the Benevolent Fund to support midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) who are facing domestic abuse or coercive control and needing to flee. Apply for the Benevolent Fund here.
