Released on: 12 January 2017

In response to the Department of Health consultation response to changes to the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s legislation, Elizabeth Duff, Senior Policy Advisor, NCT, said:

“It is very disappointing that on the question of supervision of midwives the majority of responses to this consultation have apparently been ignored.

“For many women, supervision has a positive impact on their experience of maternity services and supervisors play an important role in ensuring women receive high quality care.

“When asked if statutory supervision for midwives should be removed, 84 per cent of respondents – including NCT – gave a negative response. This reflected the direct effect that supervisory support has on the quality of women’s care and these respondents expressed safety concerns which have not been addressed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

“We must now ask for clarity on how women will achieve the choices they need to make without the support they have had from supervisors in the past. As it stands now, there are very real concerns about this move and the consequences for the safety of mothers and babies in maternity care.”

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