The Government has committed to hiring an extra 2,000 midwives in England and to a long-term and independently verified workforce plan. This comes in the wake of Sands joining the All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) on Baby Loss and Maternity in urging the Government to commit to safer staffing in maternity services.
As part of the Autumn Statement, the Government announced that it would follow recommendation in the Ockenden Review for 2,000 extra midwives in England. This is welcome support for maternity services that are struggling to provide safe care, as revealed in the APPGs on Baby Loss and Maternity Safe Staffing Report.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who was previously co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Baby Loss, also announced a long-term workforce plan produced with the NHS, which will assess the workforce needs over the next fifteen years. This was a demand specified in the Safe Staffing campaign supported by Sands this Baby Loss Awareness Week.
As health is a devolved matter in the UK, Sand is also closely following responses from Governments in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales though no formal statements have yet been made.
"We are so pleased to hear that the Government is listening to bereaved parents and maternity staff. Our task now is to make sure the Government follows through with its commitments so that we can continue pushing for the UK to be the safest place in the world to have a baby. We are so grateful to all our supporters who participated in this campaign."
Jess Reeves, Head of Public Affairs and Campaigns at Sands
Louis Pilard, Campaigns Officer, added, ‘Over 1,000 Sands Supporters sent letters to their political representatives in all four nations of the UK for our safe staffing campaign. The Government’s announcements show what our community can achieve by making our voices heard regularly in the long-term – and this is what we will continue to do.’ Louis Pilard, Campaigns Officer,
The recent commitments by the Government have not yet specified how the extra 2,000 midwives will be recruited nor a timeline for the publishing of the workforce plan. The Public Affairs and Campaigns team at Sands will be monitoring the Government’s progress to ensure that they are implemented while planning the next campaign steps for Sands.