What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the adequacy of NHS midwifery staffing in remote and rural areas of Wales?
All health boards in Wales are staffed to Birthrate Plus standards (the Birthrate Plus acuity workforce tool is recommended by NICE for safe staffing within maternity services) which is a nationally recognised assessment model for midwifery staffing. This tool takes into account issues such as additional travelling times for health boards with rural and remote communities.
Birthrate Plus has recently been commissioned by Welsh Government to undertake a review of the number of midwives required to meet future needs of families. They have been working collaboratively with NHS Wales Heads of Midwifery to develop a methodology based on the evidence provided by maternity teams in health boards and universities.