Good news on student midwife numbers?

Last week, Conservative MP for Crawley Henry Smith secured a House of Commons debate on NHS maternity care. You can read a transcript of the debate here and read about it on Henry’s own website.
 
Henry set out very clearly the challenges facing midwives: the skyrocketing number of births in England – up 22% since 2001 – and the increased complexity of the workload, such as the 71% rise in births to women aged 40 or over. He also set out how, although the number of midwives and student midwives is up, it’s up by less than the number of births and we still have a shortage of midwives across the country.
 
Henry drew for information on the RCM’s own State of Maternity Services report, which was launched at an event in the House of Commons last November and at which Henry himself spoke. The report secured widespread coverage in the press at the time, such as this piece that appeared in the Daily Mail.
 
One of the most important things we heard from health minister Anne Milton MP, who was replying to Henry’s speech, was that the Government’s decision not to cut student midwife numbers this year (while student nurse numbers have been cut) may continue into future years. We need now to make sure that happens; if it does, Henry Smith will have helped us secure something really valuable. Watch this space.