What is the Welsh Government's response to the UNICEF / NICE recommendation that there should be one full time health worker per 3,000 births in maternity services?
All health boards are required to use the Birthrate Plus workforce tool to determine the level of midwifery staff to provide care to their maternal population. All health boards have confirmed they are using the tool and are funding the staffing levels recommended for their service. The Royal College of Midwives annual State of Midwifery Services Report in 2018 acknowledged that numbers of midwives working in Wales has risen steadily in recent years. Since 2009, despite a fall at the start of this decade, the number of midwives working in the NHS in Wales has risen by the equivalent of 129 full-time midwives (up 10.6 per cent).
Health boards are also required to comply with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) guidelines on obstetric medical workforce. These requirements are referred to in the new Vision for Maternity Services in Wales 2019.
There were 32,236 births in Wales in 2017 and 1,347 FTE midwives and 340 FTE obstetric and gynaecology medical staff. This gives a ratio of 157.0 full time health workers per 3,000 births. (Source: National Community Child Health Database (NCCHD) and NHS electronic staff record).
|
Number of FTE |
2017 |
|
Midwives |
1346.8 |
|
Obstetrics and Gynaecology |
340.1 |
|
Combined |
1686.9 |
|
Number of |
2017 |
|
Births |
32,236 |
|
|
|
|
Ratio of staff per 3,000 births |
157.0 |