As the birth-rate in the UK continues to rise, new recruitment data reveals demand for midwives has increased by almost 20% over the last year. This comes at a time when midwifery is no longer among the professions included on the Government’s recently published list of jobs open to immigrants from outside the European Union.
Medical recruitment agency Pulse, the provider of this data, raises concerns that the UK is facing a shortfall in the number of qualified professionals to cater for this increase. According to the Office of National Statistics, the birth rate has risen by 16% – equivalent to 90,000 extra births – since 2001. This comes at a time when the Government has pledged 3,400 extra full-time midwifery posts – or 4,000 jobs when part-time workers are taken into account. Yet, the research, for the Darzi review into the NHS, shows a shortfall in Eng-land of 4,288 midwives which suggests an urgent need to address the current skills shortage. Richard MacMillan, chief execu-tive, Pulse, comments: “The Government has to recognise that we are facing an increasing need for qualified midwives for a number of reasons and now is not the time to restrict the valuable contribution that workers coming from overseas make. At the same time, it has to do more to attract homegrown talent into the profession as well as keep the ones that we already have.”
