Request
Dear SHA Freedom of Information Officer,
Please find attached and below an application made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, concerning the Government’s announcement of an extra 4,000 midwives for the NHS and a Return to Practice (RTP) campaign for midwives launched on February 25, 2008.
I would be grateful if you could kindly acknowledge having received this email and provide the information relevant to the request within 20 working days, as outlined by the statute.
For convenience, I am sending a general email to all Strategic Health Authorities (SHA). If you are no longer the appropriate contact to deal with this request, please could you kindly forward my message to the person at your SHA who should deal with this request, or provide me with an alternative e-mail for contacting him or her.
Our Response
I refer to your email requesting information in respect of midwifery return to practice.
I can confirm in accordance with S.1 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 that we do hold most of the information that you have requested.
I can confirm that in the East Midlands, we received funding to support midwives in returning to practice in the financial years 2008/09 and 2009/10. We only hold records in relation to these two financial years.
Between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009 we received 15 enquiries about opportunities to return to midwifery practice. Since 1 April 2009 we have received a further 12 enquiries.
13 commenced the required training overall during this period and all 13 have now successfully completed their training. 6 more are scheduled to start this academic year and continue to be supported by NHS East Midlands in meeting their education and supervision requirements.
9 have been successful in gaining employment in the East Midlands to date and 4 more are awaiting the outcome of applications or interviews for posts.
None of the students that commenced the Return to Practice programme has left without completing the training.
The funds received in NHS East Midlands to support the Return to Midwifery Practice programme were:
- £45,000 in 2008/09
-
£30,000 in 2009/10
NHS East Midlands regularly monitors the progress of people returning to practice and the outcomes for them as well as the service. This is just one strand of our work programme to build capacity and capability in maternity services and has been successful in securing the number of returners to practice that we planned for through this route. We conclude, therefore, that it has been a valuable approach
I hope that this information is of use to you. If you are dissatisfied with the way in which we have dealt with your request you can write to:-
Mr Kevin Orford
Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Finance
NHS East Midlands
Octavia House
Interchange Business Park
Bostock's Lane
Sandiacre
Nottingham
NG10 5QG
If at the conclusion of any review you remain dissatisfied you may complain to the Information Commissioner who can be contacted at:-
The Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
