A vigil will be held in Bangor calling on the government to implement urgent crisis management and resources to support midwives.

 

The ‘March With Midwives’ event will take place on Sunday 21 November at Bangor War Memorial, between 2-4pm. It will be one of the many peaceful protests taking place across the UK in every town or city with a maternity unit.

A recent Royal College of Midwives (RCM) survey found that 60 per cent of staff are thinking of leaving their profession, and for every 30 newly qualified midwives, 29 are leaving.

The RCM warns that “midwives are being driven out of the NHS” by understaffing and fears they cannot deliver safe care to women in the current system.

According to the March for Midwives group, the closure of maternity units and declining numbers of midwives is causing a crisis where maternity services are becoming “critically unsafe” for both staff and users.

The group says that top-down pressures that include fear of disciplinary or legal action result in a lack of midwifery autonomy and an erosion of the traditional role of the midwife, with midwifery skills being lost and the profession eroded.

Local midwives, medical professionals and families will attend the event in Bangor, which is hoped to share awareness and send a clear message for the government to listen to staff and service users, fund emergency retention of staff, enable all qualified midwives to enter training and finish their courses and to reduce the demands of staff.

The RCM’s General Secretary and Chief Executive, Gill Walton, said: “Every midwife and maternity support worker goes to work to provide safe, quality care.

“That so many feel that understaffing means they are unable to do so is deeply worrying. What these numbers suggest is a midwife exodus, which will leave already-struggling services on their knees.

“Quite rightly, there is a strong focus on improving maternity safety, but there is a risk that the Government is ignoring the essential ingredient to that: having the right staff, in the right place.”

People are encouraged to come along and show their support in Bangor to show their solidarity with midwives, maternity workers, families and services users.

A spokesperson for the Bangor event said: “Maternity services are currently in crisis and we need your support! All are welcome, banners very much welcome too!

“This affects everyone, whether it’s your girlfriend, daughter, sister or cousin who may be pregnant or your friend that may work in maternity.”

For more information visit the Facebook Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222767526557784