Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Paragraph: 36
With 8 out of 10 midwives reporting that they did not have enough staff on...
Conclusion
With 8 out of 10 midwives reporting that they did not have enough staff on their shift to provide a safe service, it is clear that urgent action is needed to address staffing shortfalls in maternity services. Evidence submitted to our inquiry estimates that as a minimum, there need to be 496 more obstetricians and 1,932 more midwives. While we welcome the recent increase in funding for the maternity workforce, when the staffing requirements of the wider maternity team are taken into account– including anaesthetists to provide timely pain relief which is a key component of safe and personalised care - a further funding commitment from NHS England and Improvement and the Department will be required to deliver the safe staffing levels expectant mothers should receive.
Paragraph Reference:
36
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
24. The Government is considering this recommendation. 25. The inquiry’s report welcomed the recent investment of £95.6m by NHSEI to target the three overarching themes identified in the first Ockenden Report: workforce numbers, training and development programmes to support culture and leadership, and strengthening board assurance and surveillance to identify issues earlier. A significant proportion of this sum will support the recruitment of 1,200 additional midwives and 100 consultant obstetricians. 26. As the committee notes, the Department has commissioned the RCOG, to develop a new workforce planning tool to improve how maternity units calculate their medical staffing requirements. 27. The tool will calculate the number of obstetricians at all grades required locally and nationally to provide a safe, personalised maternity service within the context of the wider workforce. 28. The Department remains committed to improving maternity safety and will take the recommendations made by the Committee and its Panel in relation to funding for staffing into consideration. As part of this, we will need to consider an assessment of midwifery and obstetric workforce levels. This assessment would also need to take into consideration time for healthcare professionals to partake in annual multi-disciplinary training and provide personalised care.