Fewer midwives working in County Durham and Darlington

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said there was a shortage of 2,000 midwives across England and accused the Government of doing too little to prevent what it calls a recruitment and retention crisis.

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust and the North Tees and Hartlepool Trust both recorded fewer midwives in December than it did a year earlier, according to the new figures.

But South Tees Hospitals Trust bucked the national trend, increasing the number of midwives it employed in the 12 months.

In 2020, County Durham and Darlington had the equivalent of 207.3 full-time midwives.

But by the end of 2021, that had dropped to 196.6.

Maternity services in Darlington faced a number of issues last year, including having to close the showers at Darlington Memorial Hospital due to a loss of water pressure – a problem which lasted several months – and suspending its home birth service due to the pressure on it caused by staffing issues and Covid.

Six months later, that service is still suspended.

New mum Laura Phoenix, from Darlington, was more than eight months pregnant when she was told she would not be able to have an NHS assisted home birth.

Instead, she opted for an unassisted birth at home.

Describing the midwives who had been involved with her care during her pregnancy as amazing, she said: “When I went into hospital I didn’t see the strain myself but I’m not saying it wasn’t there. I only went in for my scans and I was being cared for by two midwives in my own home it was great – they were very attentive and considerate of my needs.”

She added: “That was the only indication I got that they were understaffed. There was nothing lacking in their care. They were amazing, amazing people.

“I think it’s difficult for people to have a glimpse into people’s lives because they put on such a good face. Maybe that’s why people are walking away.”

Last year, when the Northern Echo reported on issues at the maternity unit in Darlington, women got in touch to praise "stretched" staff, who were going "above and beyond" but were "run off their feet".

There are 22,192 full-time midwives working on maternity wards in England.

Despite a drop in the number of midwives working for the NHS last year, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, a regulator for the profession, says registrations for new midwives to the organisation have continued to rise over the last few years – with almost 40,000 midwives eligible to practice as of September 2021.

Gill Walton, chief executive of the RCM, a trade union for midwives, warned: “England is still more than 2,000 midwives short of where we need to be and that simply isn’t good enough.

"While we welcome attempts to train and recruit new midwives, this Government is doing nothing to stop the experienced and qualified ones from leaving.

“At the same time as demands on services and the pressures on maternity staff are rising, staff numbers are going down. Despite the often-heroic work of midwives and others to try to plug the gaps, this is putting the quality of care and the safety of women and babies at risk.”

Across England, there were the equivalent of 337 fewer full-time midwives working for the NHS in December 2021 than at the same point in 2020.

In March 2021 NHS England announced a recruitment drive for maternity staff, promising £95m to be spent on recruiting 1,200 midwives and 100 obstetricians.

A spokesperson for NHS England said: “We recognise that we have more to do to bolster our maternity workforce to ensure that we can provide the safest possible care for women and their babies.”

The North Tees and Hartlepool Trust also reported having fewer midwives in December than it did a year earlier.

It had the equivalent of 112.9 full-time midwives — 4.1 fewer than 117 at the same point in 2020.

In 2019 there were the equivalent of 116.4 full-time midwives working for the trust.

South Tees Hospitals bucked the national trend, increasing the number of full time equivalent midwives it employed from 185.5 in 2020 to 192.3 at the end of 2021.

A South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “We’re now empowering our doctors and nurses to take the decisions about how we manage our resources and deliver care across our hospitals and services and are really pleased to have welcomed extra midwifery colleagues.”

The latest workforce figures came shortly after a major report into malpractice at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, which found significant failings in its maternity services from 2000 to 2019.

Read more: 'Elevated levels' of legionella found at Darlington Memorial Hospital

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