The body representing Scotland’s midwives is calling for an urgent funding boost so universities can cope with an unexpected rise in trainee midwife numbers.

Dr Mary Ross-Davie, director for Scotland at the Royal College of Midwives says that while a recent rise in the number of student midwives is good news, there is a pressing need to invest in the maternity services and universities that will otherwise struggle to support students’ education.

“You cannot cram more students into a system without backing that up with investment and support,” explains Dr Ross-Davie.

“We have more student midwives but not enough educators in universities to cope with the increase. This is even more pressing now as universities are taking far more midwifery students this year than planned, because of the issues around exam results.

“We need to make sure Scotland has enough midwifery educators in our universities which means making wages in education match those in the NHS.

“We also need to be aware of the potential pressures on our already stretched maternity services when so many more students will go into them doing clinical placements, and to plan for that.

“Scotland is trying to fit a quart into a pint pot and it cannot be done.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is working with stakeholders, including the RCM, to strengthen education for midwives. 

“We have commissioned NHS Education for Scotland to undertake a review of the current and future national midwifery workforce requirements and consider education provision, to ensure that Scotland has the right midwifery workforce, in the right place, with the right skills and competencies to support current and future service reform and sustainability.”

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