A new survey by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has revealed that many of Scotland’s midwives are working hundreds of unpaid extra hours to try and keep services running safely.

RCM says the survey responses from 1,548 midwives and maternity support workers from across Scotland, England and Wales, show midwives have been “plugging the gaps” caused by staffing shortages.

The national union for midwifery says these findings lay bare the extent of the problem, with 85% of midwives saying they have worked additional hours for no pay during the first week of March.

Almost half (45%) of all those who responded worked up to five hours extra hours.

Meanwhile, over a third of midwives told the RCM that, across the course of the week when they answered, they had worked between five and ten additional unpaid hours.

The RCM has described the situation as ‘unsustainable’ and ‘grossly unfair’ particularly, they say, as members in Scotland are now ‘overdue’ their pay rise.

RCM’s National Officer for Scotland, Emma Currer, said:

“For far too long our members in Scotland have been plugging the gaps when it comes to staffing shortages.

“It’s unsustainable and, given the current delays with the pay negotiations and implementation of the reduced working week, it’s absolutely demoralising for staff.

“We’ve long said that Scottish maternity services can’t run on the goodwill of midwives. It’s clear from the results of our poll that without our members working unpaid additional hours week in week out maternity services in Scotland would be so much more worse off.”

Echoing the findings of a similar survey two years ago, safe staffing levels have been flagged by RCM members in this survey, with three quarters of midwives sharing that they did not feel their services were safely staffed during the week 4-10^th March.

RCM’s UK General Secretary, Gill Walton says this isn’t the first time the union has raised this issue, with the latest poll providing “further proof” that the government must make a change to support its workforce.

Ms Walton added that maternity services cannot continue to be delivered this way and despite some progress, demand is outpacing staff.

She said mental and physical toll of this cannot be ignored, with the “profound” pressure on staff struggling to deliver the care they want to impacts the care women and their babies are receiving.

RCM is calling on Westminster and the Scottish government to “do their homework” by reviewing the NHS workforce plan, listening to staff and provide support.

The National Officer for Scotland, Emma Currer added both staff and patients across Scotland deserve better from the government:

“Is this the way the Scottish government wants to run our maternity services? Furthermore, we are still awaiting a response to the 2024/25 pay claim which is now well overdue, what kind of message does this send to our hard working and dedicated maternity service staff? Women and their babies deserve better and all those working and striving to deliver good quality maternity deserve better.”

The need to ensure midwives and maternity care assistants in Scotland are supported to provide the safest care for women and families, has never been greater, says the RCM.

Earlier this year the RCM said that ‘ending the midwifery staffing shortage was possible’, publishing its guide which included low-cost solutions to improve working conditions for midwives for staff across Scotland and the UK.

Ms Curer warned that if action isn’t taken, Scotland could see more and more midwives leaving the profession:

“Not having the right number of staff undoubtedly impacts the safety and the quality of the care that can be delivered. Our members have told us often of the worry they experience as they struggle to deliver maternity care in the face of staffing shortages. The pressure that comes with that is immense, and too often it’s the reason why midwives decide to leave the profession.

“In Scotland, our members have told us that staffing issues, safety concerns and pay, and conditions are their main reasons for considering leaving the profession.

“The government must act now before it’s too late or we will see the same staff retention challenges that the NHS is currently grappling with in England.”

Read more: ‘Bleak picture': health leaders react to NHS review; Urgent workforce reforms needed for Scotland's NHS; Economic change key to Scotland's health inequalities; Government to launch ‘conversation’ on future NHS; ‘Invaluable' impact of mental health volunteers

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