Increasing pressures mean midwives vote with their feet - RCM comments on Point of Care Foundation ‘Behind Closed Doors’ report
By RCM on 20 July 2017 Caring For You campaign Pay and Agenda For Change
Today The Point of Care Foundation has published a new briefing - Behind Closed Doors - highlighting that NHS staff have become the shock absorbers of an NHS under chronic strain. The Point of Care Foundation argues that the hard truths learned through the Francis Inquiry are in danger of being forgotten in the light of unprecedented, continuing, and seemingly endless service pressures. They call on organisations to prioritise staff experience and to strengthen efforts to protect staff from stress and burnout.
Commenting on the briefing, Cathy Warwick, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), said: “This report deserves attention. Everything in it is directly reflected in the work that the RCM has carried out with our own members – midwives and maternity support workers.
“Successive surveys show that midwives are finding it hard to cope with the increasing pressures placed on them and more and more are either voting with their feet or suffering from stress and anxiety.
“The RCM’s Caring for You campaign* and our own publications directly reflect the recommendations in Behind Closed Doors.
“The report says that it is hard to deliver the best care in an environment in which staff themselves don’t feel cared about. After seven years of pay restraint and the average midwife seeing their salary drop in value by over £6,000 we need the Government to show staff they value them by removing the public sector pay cap and making the funds available to pay NHS staff a fair pay rise. This report echoes what the RCM has been saying for years, that investment in staff is an investment in high quality, safe care.
“We must act now if the public is to get the care they deserve.”
The Point of Care Foundation 'Behind Closed Doors' briefing can be viwed at https://www.pointofcarefoundation.org.uk/evidence/behind-closed-doors/.
To contact the RCM Press Office call 020 7312 3456, or email pressofficer@rcm.org.uk.
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*For information on the RCM’s Caring for You campaign visit https://www.rcm.org.uk/caring-for-you-campaign.
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/.