Bullying on NHS maternity units and poor training a risk to safety, MPs told

Doctors and midwives working in maternity services face higher levels of bullying than any other part of the NHS, MPs have been told.

According to the General Medical Council, trainee doctors in maternity services report more than twice the level of bullying seen in the rest of the NHS while the Nursing and Midwifery Council said midwives were also more likely to be bullied.

MPs on the Commons health select committee heard that the culture in some maternity units was a major barrier to improving safety and tackling poor care.

In an evidence session as part of an ongoing inquiry into maternity care, MPs were also warned the lack of properly funded training was forcing some midwives to pay out of their own pocket.

The inquiry by the committee was launched last year after repeated maternity scandals at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust and East Kent Hospitals University Trust.

Giving evidence to the committee, Charlie Massey, chief executive of the General Medical Council said: “We do see in our data some quite troubling data around bullying."

“If you are an obstetrics or gynaecology trainee, we see in our national training survey each year that some 14% report that they have experienced bullying – and that’s against an average for all trainees of 6%. You see more than double the rate of bullying in obstetrics and gynaecology than you do elsewhere.”

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Source: The Independent, 20 January 2021