Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Acknowledged
Suspension of RCOG safe staffing tool undermines maternity workforce stability.
Conclusion
Suspending adoption of RCOG’s safe staffing tool has left Trusts without clear guidance on safe staffing levels, perpetuating poor workforce supply and undermining efforts to stabilise and support maternity teams. (Conclusion, Paragraph 64) 33
Government Response Summary
NHS England acknowledges the importance of clear staffing guidance and is collaborating with the RCOG to produce a set of principles and expectations for obstetric consultant job planning, which they aim to share soon to support optimal staffing levels in maternity services.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
NHS England is working in collaboration with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) to support trusts to ensure optimal staffing levels are in place to provide high-quality maternity care services. RCOG provided a comprehensive census of the obstetric workforce at a trust level, including possible comparisons with unit acuity (a measure of the severity of a patient’s condition and the urgency with which they need to be assessed). It demonstrated significant variation with no real guide as to what level of staffing is safe. In collaboration with RCOG and regional maternity teams, NHS England is producing a set of principles and expectations to guide job planning for obstetric consultants at trust level, which will lay out what activities must be covered to provide a safe maternity service. NHS England and RCOG will aim to share this work as soon as possible to support planning.