Safety, standards and experience in the midwifery profession

Once again midwives, student midwives, midwifery support workers and midwifery leaders came together for the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) 2-day annual conference, held in Harrogate in October. This year's conference was entitled ‘safety, standards and experience’.

There is little doubt that 2016 has been a year of importance for maternity services. We have seen the release of Better Births (National Maternity Review, 2016), the launch of the RCM's Caring for You campaign (Leversidge, 2016) and the announcement of the planned changes to midwifery supervision and NHS student bursaries. The RCM conference this year brought together a variety of speakers, all of whom encouraged, educated and empowered the delegates. Speakers ranged from midwives with many years of experience imparting their wisdom and knowledge, to senior members of the RCM, NHS and Department of Health informing delegates of upcoming, up-to-date, relevant information regarding changes to maternity services.