‘Step in right direction’ say midwives on First Minister Scottish student midwife announcement

By RCM on 25 January 2017 RCM Scotland Bursaries and Scholarships

Today Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister has announced an increase in the number of student midwives in training for the next year, protection for student midwife and nurse bursaries, free tuition fees for student midwives and nurses, and additional help for the most needy midwifery and nursing students.

Commenting, Mary Ross Davie, Director for Scotland at the Royal College of Midwives, said: “This is good news for Scotland’s maternity services and for those looking to become midwives. The additional financial help will go a long way also towards supporting those from less financially well off backgrounds to enter midwifery.

Also many entrants to midwifery training are often in their thirties or even older. They very often have families to care for and even with the bursary and training fees paid can struggle to make ends meet.

“A historically high birthrate plus increasingly complex births mean that our maternity services have to work very hard to maintain good standards of care as demands on the service increase. The Scottish Government are recognising this, and the need to ensure we have enough new midwives coming into the profession to make up for the large numbers who could retire in the relatively near future. It is critical that Scotland at the very least maintains its midwifery numbers to ensure the continuation of high quality care across the country.

“This is another step in the right direction and the RCM will continue working with the Scottish Government to ensure our maternity services have the staff and resources they need to deliver the best possible care to mothers, babies and their families.”

The Scottish Government announcement can be read at http://news.gov.scot/news/extra-gbp-3m-to-support-student-nurses-with-dependants.

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/.