Recruiters have a key role to play in ensuring NHS organisations avoid having “dangerously low levels” of midwives, according to a spokesperson for recruiter Healthcare Locums.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ president Dr Tony Falconer recently warned in an interview published in The Guardian that mothers faced more risk at night because trainee obstetricians and other integral staff tended to be less experienced than those who worked day shifts.

Meanwhile aCare Quality commission report last month claimed that “too many women still feel that they are left alone during labour and birth”.

The HCL spokesperson told Recruiter: “The UK already has a severe shortage of midwives and this shortage is being exacerbated by the country’s growing population and increasing numbers of more complex births, as women give birth at both older and younger ages. Reports of dangerously low levels of midwife staffing cover are concerning because it means that mothers and families are not getting the right care and support they need.

“Midwifery is a discipline that lends itself particularly well to flexible staffing because hospitals can plan ahead to scale its workforce up and down to meet demand. Independent agencies frequently have a wider network of available midwives it can contact, so this is a faster and cost-effective way of doing things. Patients should not have to make do with less when help is readily available.”

Tom Hadley, the REC’s director of policy and professional services, adds: “The lack of available midwives demonstrates the extent of the staffing challenge facing the NHS as well as other public sector employers. The squeeze on public expenditure will inevitably impact on the workforce but we must avoid knee-jerk cuts that not only impact on patient care but also place unsustainable pressure on remaining staff.

“One solution is to make more use of flexible staffing arrangements such as temporary and locum staff to meet peaks in demand and provide essential cover in emergency situations such as complicated births. Rather than seeing agency costs as one of the first budget lines to be slashed, NHS Trusts and other public bodies must recognise the importance of being able to call upon suitably qualified and properly vetted flexible staff.”