Cuts to Maternity Services

NCT Comment in response to RCM survey on cuts to maternity services
Women giving birth are not getting proper care because NHS maternity units are having to deal with staff cuts, recruitment problems and smaller budgets, an RCM survey released today warns.
Increasing workloads caused by record numbers of births, more complex pregnancies and too few staff are having a negative effect on patient care, according to over half (54%) of 3,690 midwives polled.
Those results, from the NHS Staff Survey, underline serious concerns outlined today ina separate survey of heads of midwifery (HOMs). Among 83 HOMs in England questioned by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), 30% said their budget had been cut and 33% said they had been asked in the last year to reduce their staffing levels. Two-thirds said they did not have enough personnel to cope with demand.Belinda Phipps, Chief Executive, NCT, said:
“We are extremely concerned by the picture these figures paint about the future of maternity services.  
“NCT’s own recent report, ‘Left to our own devices’, based on a survey of 1260 first-time mums, showed many families were let down just when they needed services most.
Of those surveyed, 42% of women who had given birth in hospital felt there were sometimes or never enough midwives to provide them with the level of support they needed postnatally.  “With maternity services already struggling, and women and their families bearing the brunt of any cuts, it is imperative that the Government promise to protect these vital services for the future by committing to providing enough midwives as a priority.”