By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter
Nearly 50 midwives will join Nottingham’s hospitals by the end of October after a recruitment drive earlier this year.
Nottingham University Hospital’s Trust (NUH), with runs Nottingham Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital, will welcome 49 midwives over the next six weeks.
The recruitment was discussed at the trust’s board meeting yesterday (September 12).
The new staff consist of newly qualified and experienced midwives, with some arriving from overseas, joining in five cohorts between now and October 21.
The new recruits are in addition to 18 international midwives from Ghana, Iran, Hong Kong, South Africa and Zambia who joined the trust earlier this year.
In yesterday’s meeting, there was some concern raised over the training for new starters, with Dr Manjeet Shehmar, Medical Director at NUH, asking: “Great that we have been able to recruit, but then it does mean that we have got a lot of new starters.
“Number one- how are we making sure those people are supported and have appropriate training and how are we managing the impact on the teams that come to work here?”
Sharon Wallis, Director of Midwifery at NUH, said: “It is an issue, the skill mix.
“It’s the first time that we’ve had competitive interviews for some significant time so that’s really positive but we recognise that they do need a lot of support.
“We have preceptorship midwives and legacy midwives and mentors that work alongside newly-qualified midwives, we have a really robust preceptorship programme as well, so they come in and have their induction, their mandatory training as well, we try to make sure the rotas have that seniority and skill mix within to support them.
“None of our band 5 that we have recruited in the last 12 months have left and we have pastoral support, monthly supervision and restorative supervision and teaching sessions and they’re very positively received and attended.
“We know that there is a stretch but these are our future midwives, we have an accelerated band 5 to 6 programme as well.”
NUH’s maternity team consists of more than 360 midwives who support women and families across the county.
The turnover rate for maternity staff at NUH has also improved significantly over the last year, from 13.41 per cent in July 2023 to 8.45 per cent in July this year.
The trust says it is continuing to aid the retention rates through projects such as careers events and self-rostering.
The new midwives are part of NUH’s ongoing maternity improvement programme.
NUH’s maternity services are currently under an ongoing review by senior midwife Donna Ockenden after various maternity failings across the trust’s hospitals including baby deaths and injuries.
The review is expected to be published in September 2025.
