The Royal College of Midwives has given a cautious welcome to the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review, announced today.
Gill Walton, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the RCM, said:
“Midwives, maternity support workers and student midwives will have been hoping for more of an indication that this Government understands the desperate need for investment in maternity care and midwifery education. With an increase in day-to-day spending for the NHS, today’s announcement is high on hope, but low on detail. We will be looking to the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care to give us some clarity on what this means for women and families, who deserve good quality, safe care, and for the staff desperate to deliver it for them.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced an increase in day-to-day NHS spending of three per cent – or an extra £29bn – each year for the next four years. How this is spread across the competing demands – and what it means for maternity care – remains to be seen. Last week, the RCM published a survey of final year student midwives which set out the parlous state of the jobs market for newly-qualified midwives, despite a recognised staff shortage. The RCM will also be looking for clarity on what investment is available to improve NHS estates, with too many maternity services having to battle outdated and sometimes dangerous buildings just to provide care.
Gill added:
“We have always been clear that good maternity care starts with having the right staff in the right place at the right time with the right education and training. The right place doesn’t just mean the staff that are on shift, but where they’re working too. We’ve seen too many CQC reports that say care is being put at risk because the right equipment simply can’t be accommodated in rooms. Women are receiving care in services where access to rooms is limited by a lack of water supply and the ceilings are being held up by props. This is an opportunity to put things right and to reassure women – and the midwives and maternity support workers caring for them – that maternity care matters.”
In addition, the Chancellor announced that Scotland would receive £50bn, Northern Ireland £20bn and Wales £23bn. With health devolved to the national administrations, the RCM will be looking to politicians at Holyrood, Stormont and the Senedd to use this funding wisely when it comes to investment in maternity care.
