Value NHS staff and invest in them says RCM responding to CQC State of Care report
on 22 October 2021 NHS Staff NHS Funding NHS Pay Pay and Agenda For Change Women Maternity Safety Maternity Services
Value NHS staff and invest in them and the services they work in says the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) responding to the CQC’s State of Care report published today (22 October).
Gill Walton, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “Years, if not decades, of under-investment in maternity services and the wider NHS has left the service and its staff buckling under the weight of the demands on them. Prior to the pandemic staff shortages and the lack of adequate funding were already chronic. COVID-19 has exposed more issues, placed more pressures on staff and has further affected existing staff shortages. Undoubtedly the pandemic has exposed starkly and brutally how precarious our health and care services are.
“This Government and future ones must value staff, they must value the work they do, support their health and wellbeing and invest in them and the services they work in. Our NHS is as good as it is, despite the lack of resources, because of the efforts, dedication, and goodwill of its staff. However, years of understaffing and the effects of the pandemic have left many of them burnt out, fragile, exhausted, and demoralised. This has been worsened by the Government’s late and inadequate recent pay award, which sent a clear message to NHS staff that they are not valued by the Government. Our NHS needs urgently needs more staff and a significant injection of money and resources to stop it collapsing altogether and it make it fit for future, the Government must act now before it’s too late.”
ENDS
To contact the RCM Media Office call 020 7312 3456, or email media@rcm.org.uk.
Notes to editor
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 website.