by Felicity Collier

NHS MATERNITY services are “reaching crisis point” brought on by a shortage of thousands of midwives and a “retirement time bomb,” the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) warned yesterday.

The union said the crisis was caused by a shortage of 3,500 midwives in England and the fact that over a third of the nationwide workforce is nearing retirement age.

Due to the number of midwives in England aged 50 and over having substantially increased and the number aged under 50 having fallen, the whole system is “potentially on the brink of collapse,” the RCM warned.

Only one extra midwife is being hired per maternity unit per year in England, the report revealed.

The removal of the student midwifery and nursing bursary has reduced the number of applicants to degree courses.

In the last six academic years, there was a total of 2,500 places for new student midwives commissioned in England each year.

But last week, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service reported a 20 per cent drop in places being taken up on the courses.

In Scotland, midwives and maternity care assistants make up 41 per cent of the workforce.

As in England, the number of staff in the oldest age category is on the rise, while the younger age groups are in decline.

The RCM also reported that the number of babies born in England in 2015 was over 50,000 higher than 10 years ago and over 100,000 more than in 2001.

“A vast proportion of our midwives are close to retirement,” said RCM chief executive Cathy Warwick.

“We’re lucky to have them. They are doing great work every day. But it’s an inescapable fact that they will soon take their well-deserved retirement.

“That will challenge our maternity units and put the whole system potentially on the brink of collapse.”

Labour shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth MP said the report raised further concerns about the future supply of staff in the NHS.

He pointed out that in 2010 the Tories pledged an extra 3,000 midwives but had broken their promise.

Mr Ashworth said: “The government’s inept approach to NHS workforce planning is failing families.

“The RCM report is another illustration of how the Tories’ chronic underfunding and incompetent management are driving the pressures on the health service.”

Health Minister Philip Dunne said: “Patients should be reassured that we are actively ensuring we continue to have enough midwives in the NHS — already there are over 2,100 more since 2010, with 6,300 more in training.

“The way we model midwife training places actually takes into account projected retirement rates.”