More than eight out of 10 student midwives due to qualify this year say that are ‘not confident’ they will find a job once graduating despite maternity services across the UK struggling with understaffing, according to a new survey published today by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).

The RCM says three-quarters (75%) of those due to complete who responded to the survey have already applied for jobs, but the challenge they face in securing a job post qualification is huge. This is despite the College’s estimate that the NHS remains seriously short of midwives, with many services struggling with understaffing. Some have even had to close temporarily due to unsafe levels of staffing.

The RCM says funding cuts and recruitment freezes have tied the hands of midwifery managers who are crying out for staff, but they can’t hire any or as many midwives as they need.

Calling on governments in all four nations to take urgent action, the RCM says this escalating crisis is due to a clear failure to align workforce planning with the reality of the care needs of women and families. While previous governments have sought to increase student numbers in an acknowledgement of the need for more midwives, this much-needed increase has not been accounted for in the number of staff, known as the staffing establishment, required for maternity services.

Commenting, the RCM’s Director of Midwifery, Fiona Gibb, said:

“Report after report cites understaffing as a factor in the delivery of safe care, and midwives consistently share with us that there are too few of them to deliver the best care they know they can. We also hear first-hand from women of how overstretched staff struggle to care for them on busy maternity wards. Despite this, midwifery graduates face uncertainty, with too few vacancies for them to begin work upon qualification. It’s beggars belief that, despite the Westminster Government recognising the need to increase student places, the new midwives who are now ready are finding that the jobs simply aren’t there. We know we need more midwives, it’s widely acknowledged even by politicians, but there’s clearly been a failure to align workforce planning to the much-needed increase.

Many student members who spoke to the RCM about their concerns mentioned the debt they had accrued to train as a midwife, and worried how they would pay back their loans with no jobs after the qualify, while many have been told by Trusts the lack of jobs is down to a lack of funding for posts.

Fiona continued:

“Since the removal of the bursary our student midwives have accrued thousands of pounds worth of debt to train to become midwives and now are facing the prospect no employment, despite services across the country crying out for staff, it’s a very worrying trend.”

Responding to the RCM’s survey one student midwife told the RCM:

“It’s dire. Only eight jobs became available at one trust and over 40 were shortlisted for it including myself. No jobs at my home trust at all and many did not get offered interviews for the other local trust which closed early as they were flooded with applications. I’m really scared for my future and that I’ve accumulated so much student debt and the overall stress of the course and can’t even get my dream job at the end. I am absolutely devastated and feel like I’ve let my family down”.

While another said:

“Most NHS trusts are saying that the lack of jobs is due to lack in funding and it’s worrying as for studying for 3 years you would hope to secure a job after especially with the debt we are left with after studying”.

The RCM has previously raised the alarm on the financial pressures facing student midwives, particularly in England in its State of UK Midwifery Student Finance report published last year. It also highlighted the fact that many of those choosing to studying midwifery are older students, who bring a wealth of life experience and will make excellent midwives but, often have childcare and other caring responsibilities as well as mortgages.

This has come through strongly in survey, with one midwife on the cusp of qualifying telling the RCM:

“There are seven hospitals in the pan-Birmingham area, none of which have released jobs for newly qualified students yet. Those that are releasing jobs will do so next month and students have been warned there are not many being released.  One Trust has already disclosed that they have no funding for newly qualified posts at the moment. There is a high chance I will graduate with no job. I’m 47-year-old with four children and a mortgage and don’t have the option to apply out of my local region.”

Fiona added:

“This isn’t only about midwives not being able to secure jobs in their locations of choice, over half of our member who responded to this survey said they would be willing to move to another UK region to secure employment, but they are facing more of the same recruitment freezes. Having enough midwives, in the right places, with the right skills and training is fundamental to the safety improvements that are desperately needed across maternity services. How many more times do we have to say that before the governments truly listen and take action? We are calling on all four national UK governments to review their midwifery workforce planning approach and call a halt to the recruitment freezes that are preventing women and their families from receiving the care they need and deserve.”

ENDS

For interview requests and to contact the RCM Media Office call 020 7312 3456, or email media@rcm.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• The RCM surveyed its final year student midwives on their confidence in finding post qualification employment as a midwife.
• Of 1,985 final year student members almost 1,000 responded to the survey (982 in total)
• The survey ran from Wednesday 14 May to Wednesday 21 May.
• More data available upon request
• Midwife recruitment hit by student finance pressures – Royal College of Midwives