Wales maternity safety plans welcome but must be backed up with investment says RCM 

on 24 January 2022 NHS Safety Maternity Safety Safe high quality care Midwives MSWs - Maternity Support Workers Midwife Shortage Covid-19 RCM Wales Wales NHS Wales Welsh Government

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has welcomed Welsh Government plans announced today to improvement maternity safety, and says they must be backed up with investment in staff, training and resources. 

The plans will see maternity and neonatal champions appointed to every health board in Wales to improve the quality of services in a new £1.3m Welsh Government plan. 

Helen Rogers, Director for Wales at the RCM, said: “This is a welcome and significant step towards making Welsh maternity services even safer and improving the quality of care for women, babies and their families. Safety must be at the heart of every decision taken from the bedside to the boardrooms and at the highest levels of Government. It must be the golden thread running through everything we do. We also must ensure that women and their needs are right at the centre of this, and that they are involved in shaping services as we move forward. 

“Midwives, maternity support workers and their colleagues have been battered by the pandemic, suffering from overwork, stress and burnout. They are simply exhausted, and we must also invest in them and support them to recover and move forward. The RCM will be working with the Welsh Government to support them with this initiative."

ENDS  

To contact the RCM Media Office call 020 7312 3456, or email media@rcm.org.uk.  

Notes to Editors:  

For more information on the Welsh Government maternity safety announcement visit Maternity and neonatal champions to improve services across Wales | GOV.WALES.

The Royal College of Midwives (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 | A professional organisation and trade union dedicated to serving the whole midwifery team.