AIBU to think I am being forced out of midwifery?

[ThisMustBeMyDream]

I've been a midwife for 12 years. I have a wealth of experience and skills.
But I am also a single parent (not through choice).
I have no family support. Ex husband doesn't involve himself with the children.
I'm in so much debt from paying for a Nanny so I can keep on working.
I can't do it anymore.
Work won't help.
I feel absolutely lost and distraught that for 12 years, I have fought hard to make this work (I was a teenage mum when I started my training). And now I can feel it slipping out of my fingers.
All I wanted was to work as a community midwife so I can use regular childcare. But no, this can not be accomodated due to the government deciding 80% of women should have continuity of carer (Better Births recommendation, which was then used in the NHS Long Term Plan). The traditional community model is going to go to a caseloading model which involves community days, along side hospital shift work. My employer has stated even if I could do the caseloading model, I can not stay part time either (I am currently part time as I have 3 children to manage, and one has additional needs).
These changes are allegedly happening in all Trusts as a result.
I'm going to lose my career. What the hell am I going to do?

really difficult situation and another example of the UK treating it's healthcare staff atrociously. nhs really needs an overall and to be run by frontline staff not politicians or career managers.

Contact your union and look if you have a fexi working agreement in place they would have to have meetings with you to work out what would work with you for childcare. They can't force you into full time just like that. Unions should be your first port of call for advice and support.

I’m so sorry this is so hard. If you are an RCN member they have a careers and welfare service that might be able to help. Call 0345 772 6100

All our clients/ patients knew us all. We worked very closely together, all of us had mobile phones and shared records. I think it worked very well because no patient was ever confronted with a stranger.
Personally I think that is a better model in practice.

Read some of the thread. How about pharmaceutical sales? A lot of nurses go into it. Depends on if you’re competitive or not. I’ve worked in pharma sales for years. It’s well-paid and flexible so good for parents. There would be some training away from home at times but generally a good job for parents.

It’s not in general cost effective to use PT workers. Fair enough if HCPs want to work PT when their DC are very young in order to maintain their skills, but PT workers are a less good ROI in training.

What you mean is that it isn't possible to have low taxes for big consumer companies that are sucking the life out of the economy and have decent services.

It is not cost effective to have a few people stressed out working 24/7 while everyone else can't find work at all. More part-time working benefits more people. Look up Harold Wilson. There comes a time when chasing big bucks for fewer and fewer people becomes seriously detrimental to the economy as a whole. We passed that time a while ago.

Part time work means that people can cover sickness and holidays easily. They don't get burnt out, they have time for their families. They support each other. I loved my community job and my team. It was honestly the best job I had in nearly 40 years.

Maybe go on the bank as a midwife? Or switch to something semi relevant like Carer etc.

I just feel that the bulk of my labour care will be done on on calls, after my normal working hours resulting in having to re arrange whole days work all the time. I just don't see it as workable for the midwives or women.

Yeah ideally you would know your midwife in labour. But do you want your midwife to have already worked all day and be knackered and worrying about all of tomorrows work she now has to re arrange?

I can't spend my life on call, especially for what they pay. A whole night on call I take home in my pay about 7 pounds. That's from 5 until 9 the next morning. Fine once maybe twice a week I do now, but not 3-4 times with good odds of being called.

No other profession works like this. No one. I am happy to work weekend, bank hols and Xmas etc but there has to be a balance.

@ nothininmenoggin We are made to use our own cars for community work, we also have to have business insurance that we pay for ourselves and while we can claim mileage back I am then taxed on the reimbursement so don’t get it all back.

As a result of your post OP I spoke to a midwife who works out of my office today.

She also reports absolute carnage in midwifery services locally with a push to have midwives working all over , she says people are hanging fire until they know exactly what is happening ( likely to be March) but we are likely to lose many midwives we can not afford to lose locally.

Spoke to another lady who has just retired she's been told there is absolutely no chance of part time working. It is so short sighted midwives who know the ward are much safer ( even if caring resposibilities mean that they can do 2 or 3 shifts per week) than a burnt out member of staff just holding it together. I read research recently that suggested that part time workers were more effective... better rested and more able to focus.

I despair at those who 'lead' these decisions and how short sighted they are.

I left nursing for a similar reason OP, I have a chronic health condition and they were not prepared to help or make allowances one iota.
In the end I just said sod you then and I'm earning three times as much in the private sector and only have to work part time.
They couldn't be kinder and more accommodating to me in my new job.
I am classed as self employed now and manage my own work load.
Can you do something in the private sector?

Wrt to part time work etc, there'll always be someone who wants to work nights and weekends. I used to work every weekend night, but loads of us changed dept when they started forcing us to work midweek days just because they didn't want us having a say. I couldn't work weekdays because I'm an LP.

And stopping short shifts (8.5 hours) meant loads of people retired because a 70 year old finds 13 hour days quite hard going, funnily enough.

You wouldn't catch me doing 13 hour days at nearly 60. Much too exhausting. The old shifts were much better.

I left midwifery partly because of the long shifts and also because my boss decided I could work some of my shifts at a hospital in the trust 40 miles away. And I'd have to use my car to get there and pay fuel and business insurance, etc.

I asked the RCm for support because my contract said I worked at hospital A not hospital B, but manager said she could give me a 30 day consultation and change my contract. Union (bunch of fuckwits) said it was perfectly reasonable for this to happen.

I'm now earning double in the private sector not working as a midwife. Much less stress, 9-5, better job satisfaction, better bosses.

I feel sorry for people stuck in this shit.

*@catching babies. *Bloody hell that's harsh 're cars and business insurance. How does this government think anyone will want to work this way. Glad I'm coming to the end of my career.

Writing this on my break Haven't had one in a while lol.

I asked the RCm for support because my contract said I worked at hospital A not hospital B, but manager said she could give me a 30 day consultation and change my contract. Union (bunch of fuckwits) said it was perfectly reasonable for this to happen. Erm the union aren't fuckwits. They are right, whether you like it or not, your employer can do this.

Sorry, I realise that they were right. I do feel they could have been more supportive and I'm really pissed off with them over other stuff. Such as withdrawing support from the midwife with pink hair which has been in the media recently. There was other local stuff as well where they just weren't interested. A lot of midwives have left/are leaving and moving over to unite/unison.

I read research recently that suggested that part time workers were more effective... better rested and more able to focus.

This can undoubtedly be true. The really difficult issue is optimizing the trade offs between the costs of training HCPs and the hours they put back into the health care system with providing working conditions that optimise performance and well being. Clearly the people who imagine these very complex working conditions have no appreciation of the fact that MWs need good working conditions to provide the best possible service to mothers.

I was caseloaded in both pregnancies but had ward MW at delivery as my labours were long and complicated.

All my midwives were amazing. I loved being caseloaded but more for the continuation of before and after. I think that's were it really comes into its own.

It's not practical on the salary to be on multiple on calls with DC's. All the caseloading midwives I know are younger and childless or have older children. Finding affordable, reliable ad hoc childcare is unworkable which is why millions of women with DC's live in poverty.

Finding affordable, reliable ad hoc childcare is unworkable which is why millions of women with DC's live in poverty.

The only way to do this is by living in extended families.

Our local maternity unit couldn't cope without the p/t workers because when someone is off sick, etc at short notice it's generally the p/t workers who will agree to do an extra to make the shift safe. Which people do even if they don't want/need the extra pay but they do it to help colleagues/women.

The full time workers are less likely to as they're on their knees!

Given the salaries paid to nurses and midwives, I don't think anyone can complain that part time workers aren't good value. I would rather have several experienced PT workers who stay in post for 20 + years, than force people to work until they drop and leave altogether.

Have written to my local MP regarding this. I think everyone who agrees should do the same. Half an hour of our time to write or email a letter, is most definitely worth it. I am not a midwife and had no idea about these upcoming changes. Have Mumsnet done anything on this to draw attention?

In an ideal world most of us would probably choose the same midwife to provide care. However what everyone would say is that they want the best midwife for the job at that moment. Forcing midwives to work longer hours and be on call surely won’t help. It makes me worry for the future if I have another pregnancy.