Trust joins national effort to urge midwives to return to the NHS | News

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is backing an NHS initiative offering personalised support to welcome midwives with an active UK Nursing and Midwifery Council personal registration number back to their career in midwifery. 

 

Around 6,500 midwives across England still have an active personal registration number, despite having left the profession, and are uniquely placed to return to support women and their families and help boost the midwifery workforce.

 

Following recent significant investment in maternity services, there are new diverse roles and opportunities that midwives may wish to explore. The NHS has also invested in pastoral care, education, training, and leadership and career development which means the right support is in place for people personally and professionally, allowing opportunities for them to progress in their career and to thrive in the NHS.

 

Dr Anne-Marie Henshaw, Director of Midwifery and Women’s Health at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust said “We’re here to support anybody within our local area who is thinking about returning to midwifery and would like to know more about those first steps. In fact, having launched our upskilling programme in March last year, we’ve already successfully supported four midwives to return to our Trust.

 

“We really value the skills and experience of qualified midwives and we have a fabulous maternity recruitment team ready to personally discuss the options and roles available and to help them to find the perfect role. Every journey back to midwifery is tailored to an individual needs, focusing on the training needed to get back to the frontline with confidence.”

 

Heather Irving, who has recently returned to clinical care following a period of non-clinical working commented: “I started the upskill programme at Mid Yorkshire in 2022 having worked in midwifery for a long time in a variety of roles. 

 

“The upskill course really appealed to me as I wanted to get back to working in a clinical environment where I would need to use skills I hadn’t used in a long time, since working in more specialist and management roles.

 

“I was nervous about coming back but it has been everything I had hoped. I’ve had a month of theory, a lot of clinical support and incredible mentor support. I’m so happy to be back and I feel I’m no longer worried or anxious about being in an area that I haven’t been in for such a long time. 

 

“It’s working out really well for me and I would highly recommend it.”

 

Anyone interested in returning can find out more at https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/midwifery/returning-midwifery or contact olivia.blankley@nhs.net.