RCM calls for Northern Ireland maternity strategy to be brought forward without delay
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is supporting calls for urgent action on maternity services in Northern Ireland, after Professor Mary Renfrew, author of a landmark 2024 review, said the opportunity for reform “has been missed.” Nearly two years on, with no maternity strategy in place since 2018, the RCM says mothers, babies and families […]
RCM campaign secures funding from Government for jobs for newly qualified midwives in England
The Royal College of Midwives has also secured a commitment from the Government on safe staffing talks Government funding for conversion of 1,000 jobs for newly qualified midwives A strengthened workforce will help deliver safer care for women and babies Newly qualified midwives in England will have access to an extra 1,000 new roles by the end of 2026 after the RCM secured funding from the Government following a hard-fought campaign. The RCM has been calling on the Government to find a long-term solution to the graduate midwifery […]
The RCM responds to Baroness Amos’ national maternity and neonatal review
Chief Executive Gill Walton responds to today’s publication of Baroness Amos’s national maternity and neonatal review, saying it confirms that chronic understaffing and a decade of under-investment has left midwives unable to consistently deliver safe care for women and babies. Gill said: “Behind this report are families who lost babies, who were not listened to […]
RCM response to Sunday Times article: ‘Midwifery is a distinct and highly skilled profession’
Responding to coverage in the Sunday Times about the suggestion that routes into midwifery education should be changed to make nursing education mandatory before starting midwifery, Fiona Gibb, Director of Midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives, said: “Midwifery is a distinct and highly skilled profession which is essential to the safety of women and babies. “The UK has some of the strongest midwifery education standards anywhere; what’s missing […]
RCM takes student midwife jobs crisis directly to Health Secretary
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has this week met with the Health Secretary James Murray to continue pressing for urgent action to support newly qualified midwives in England who are struggling to secure a job. Earlier this year, the RCM released figures which showed a staggering one in three newly qualified midwives had been unable to secure a […]
RCM urges employers to protect maternity staff and women during heatwave
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is calling on NHS employers to help keep staff, women and babies safe and comfortable during the heatwave – and to urgently invest in maternity facilities that are increasingly unsuitable during periods of extreme heat. The call comes as the UK experiences its second heatwave of 2026, with temperatures expecting to hit 38c this week. The RCM’s ongoing campaign ‘Your birthplace, […]
Nine in ten midwives say unsafe staffing levels affects the quality of care for women and babies
New survey data from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has laid bare the scale of the safety crisis in NHS maternity services – with nine in ten midwives saying staffing levels directly affect the care they can provide to women and babies. The findings, from a survey of 3,523 midwives, maternity support workers and midwifery students […]
Student midwives request urgent meeting with Health Secretary to discuss graduate job crisis
Members of the Royal College of Midwives’ (RCM) Student Midwife Forum have written to the newly appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, James Murray, requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the graduate job shortage. In the letter, student representatives urged the Health Secretary to make tackling the shortage of jobs for newly qualified midwives (NQMs) an […]
Scottish maternity review must be a catalyst for action, not delay, says RCM
Scotland’s Independent Review of Maternity Services must deliver real change for women, babies and midwives, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has said, after the Scottish Government confirmed the review will get underway after the summer. It will be chaired by Professor Christine McCourt, a leading maternity researcher who brings years of evidence and experience […]
Persistent inequalities in baby deaths must be addressed, says RCM
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has responded to the latest MBRRACE-UK report which shows baby deaths continue to fall across the UK – but persistent inequalities linked to ethnicity and deprivation remain. The report shows that the number of babies who die shortly before, during or after birth has continued to fall across the UK, with the perinatal mortality rate […]