Low-cost solutions to midwife shortage
Improved organisation could provide mums and babies with better midwifery support
A report revealing maternity staff shortages and poor communication with the NHS has also highlighted the innovative ways that care for mums and babies can be improved.
The number of births in Britain has increased by 16% since 2001 making the Government's promise to give women the choice of where and how they give birth, as well as one-to-one midwife care, by the end of this year hard to meet.
However, members of the Royal College of Midwives and Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists have said it is encouraging to see solutions to the problems emerging from the report. "Careful resource allocation is important and, as the report demonstrates, in a time of financial difficulty, many trusts are looking at innovative ways to ensure that money is well spent," says Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran. "You can pour money into the system, however, what is fundamental is not what you buy but how you go about planning your services when funds are tight."
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