‘RCM Scotland highlights maternal mental health and pay at STUC Women's conference’
By RCM on 28 October 2016 Maternal Mental health
Two motions from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) focusing on pay and breaking the public sector pay restraint and maternal mental health provision in Scotland are being presented at the 89th Annual STUC Women’s Conference this Friday and Saturday (28th and 29th October).
On pay in the NHS the RCM is joining with the STUC in calling on the Scottish Government to break the 1% pay cap in the NHS imposed on midwives and other healthcare workers by the UK Government.
Commenting, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) Director for Scotland Gillian Smith; “As the public sector workforce is dominated by women this means that women’s pay is hardest hit by public sector pay restraint. The RCM has calculated that since 2010 the average midwife’s salary has decreased in value by over £4,000.
The RCM is asking the Scottish Government to call on the NHS Pay Review Body to make an unfettered recommendation for NHS staff, breaking the 1% cap, so that staff in NHS Scotland gets a proper pay rise.”
“We believe in UK wide pay in the NHS, but as health is a devolved matter we would like to see leadership from the Scottish Government to show that paying NHS staff fairly is good for the NHS is good for patients and is good for not only midwives, but all women working hard to deliver our public services.”
The second motion being presented by the RCM involves concerns around maternal provision in Scotland. The RCM has previously highlighted the severe lack of maternal mental health services for women who suffer from some form of depression and anxiety, during pregnancy and after birth, most recently in their manifesto for Scottish Parliament elections earlier this year.
A major concern for the RCM is the poor provision of services for women who suffer from some form of depression and anxiety, during pregnancy and after birth. Illustrating this is the fact that ten of Scotland’s 14 health boards have no midwives with accredited mental health training.
Commenting RCMs Director for Scotland Gillian Smith says; “In Scotland there are no specialist perinatal mental health midwives despite the fact that at least 1 in 10 women will develop a mental illness during pregnancy or in the first postnatal year.
Furthermore there are only two mother and baby units in Scotland. This means women who suffer with mental health problems during pregnancy or in the months after giving birth are not getting the standard of care they need and deserve. The RCM is calling on the Government to address this immediately.”
The 89th Annual STUC Women’s Conference takes place Friday the 28th and 29th October 2016 – at the Concert Hall, Perth, Scotland.
More information on the STUC can be found here: http://www.stuc.org.uk/
To contact the RCM Press Office call 020 7312 3456 or email pressofficer@rcm.org.uk.
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Notes to editors
The RCM is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team. We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences and online resources. For more information visit the RCM website at https://www.rcm.org.uk/.