Somerset student midwife 'deeply worried' about lack of vacancies in sector

• Our reporter Richard Lawrence sits down with Aimee Peach

A student midwife from Somerset has told ITV News she's "deeply worried" by a lack of vacancies in the maternity sector, despite maternity services struggling with understaffing.

Aimee Peach, from North Petherton, is about to start the third year of her training, but said the prospect of a job at the end of her degree is minimal.

"I've invested my heart and soul into doing this degree, and there are just no positions available," she said.

"I'm struggling to find the motivation to complete my final year because at the end of it, it's very unlikely that I will be able to find a position, especially locally."

Two months ago, Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset announced its maternity unit would be closed for at least six months due to concerns over the safety of care for babies and children - something which Ms Peach said has made the future seem more uncertain.

The temporary closure comes after maternity services at the hospital were rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) last year.

Yeovil MP Adam Dance said there are "huge issues" with maternity units in Somerset at the moment.

"I'm really concerned about the temporary closure of Yeovil District Hospital," he said. "I'm worried that people training to be midwives may not be able to finish their training and get a job here locally, and also that it's going to be harder to recruit people into the sector."

Ms Peach added that she is not the only student in her cohort worried about finding work.

"It isn't just about me," she said. "We've all poured our heart and soul into this degree, and we want to look after the families and provide them the safest maternity care that we can."

"Midwifery isn't just about delivering a baby. There's so much around it. It's about that education, and that support, which is really, really important for our future generations," she added.

According to a survey from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), more than eight out of 10 student midwives due to qualify this year said they are "not confident’ they will find a job once graduating, despite maternity services across the UK struggling with understaffing.

Fiona Gibb, Director of Midwifery at the RCM, said: "What we're seeing in some regions is a reduction in advertised posts. And this is mainly due to NHS pressures, budget restraints. So essentially, these trusts and health boards are employing what they can afford rather than what they need."

Speaking to ITV West Country, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he wants to do more to support midwives who have finished their training and are struggling to find a job.

"You only have to turn on a TV or open a newspaper on any day of the week to see that we really need those midwives, and that's why we're working closely with our Chief Midwife to make sure that those brilliant students get jobs because we need them."

"We recognise this is a problem and we're determined to solve it," he added.

"We've made sacrifices during that time to allow Aimee to be on the course, and it's been difficult, but we were hopeful for the end of it, for a positive outcome, but actually with all these reports, and everything that's going on, we don't know what that future is because we don't know whether Aimee can get a job or not.

Analysis from ITV News West Country's Political Correspondent Lucy McDaid:

Labour isn't denying there's a crisis within our maternity services. In fact, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting admits it and says he wants to fix it.

At the end of last year, Mr Streeting spoke to Grazia magazine and said the state of maternity care in England keeps him awake at night. Last month, he announced a "rapid" national investigation into NHS services, with an immediate focus on some of the worst-performing hospitals. Gloucester is one of those on his priority list.

He then released his much-anticipated 10-year plan for the NHS, which the Royal College of Midwives says has been received by some as heavy on vision, but light on detail. The step-by-step plan for improving maternity services is yet to come, but the promises from the Labour government are undeniably there, though people who have recently seen the temporary closure of Yeovil's maternity unit might struggle to agree.

Speaking to ITV News, Mr Streeting said staffing issues also need to be sorted. "You only have to turn on the TV and read a newspaper to see we really need those nurses and we really need those midwives," he said.

"We are on the case," he added. "I recognise this is a problem and I am determined to solve it."

However, the health secretary's most pressing concern at the moment is the threat of more strikes by resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors. Arguably, his whole plan for the NHS - including maternity care - rests on the shoulders of those who work for the health service, and when even just some of them are on picket lines, we've seen how it impacts the whole system.