Meeting of the Parliament 08 May 2019
I very much welcome this debate on Scotland’s midwives and maternity services, and I thank the Labour Party for bringing it forward.
I want to start by echoing Monica Lennon’s comments on the dedication, expertise and skills of our fantastic midwives, who offer world-class levels of care to mothers, babies and families across our country. Their contribution to our health service is massive, and we owe them a great deal of gratitude for the work that they do every day. I also pay tribute to the excellent work of the Royal College of Midwives, and I hope that members will support my amendment, which recognises their work and their campaigns.
I share the concerns that have already been voiced about the significant midwifery workforce challenges that are affecting so many of our hospitals and communities. According to the latest statistics, there are 114 midwifery vacancies across Scotland and the vacancy rate for midwives has doubled in the past five years. There are fewer midwives in post than there were five years ago, and less than 30 per cent of nursing and midwifery staff feel that there are enough staff. It is therefore little wonder that the RCM accused the First Minister, when she was health secretary, of making
“a spectacular error of judgment”
in cutting the number of nurse training places.
All of that is an indictment of the SNP’s running of our health services and its failure to put in place adequate national workforce planning in the 12 years that it has been in office. The midwifery shortage is another key example of just how damaging Nicola Sturgeon’s decision—