Why did I leave the NHS?

If you’d have told me a couple of years ago that I’d be leaving contracted work and setting up my own business, I’d have laughed in your face. I’ve been in the NHS, minus my 18 month stint in the UAE, since I was 18 years old. This is pretty much all I’ve ever known. I was so proud to put on my tunic and tell people that I was an “NHS Midwife” when I qualified back in 2016, but around a year ago, I started holding back when people asked me what I did for work and my love for my profession was dwindling. I didn’t want to discuss my work and tell people I was a midwife, because I didn’t feel the joy in it any more.

I hated the care that I was forced to provide. 20 minute antenatal appointments – rushing individuals through their appointments and trying to answer their questions fully whilst constantly looking at the clock thinking about the queue of people in the waiting area for me. 30-minute allotted slots for postnatal appointments – mum, baby and general family wellbeing checks expected to be completed in this time. I was constantly taking paperwork home, completing tasks out of hours and working under the continual fear of “what if I’ve missed XYZ?”.

I appreciate not all hospitals and workplaces run like this, but most maternity units are understaffed, underfunded and underappreciated. Midwives are burnt out, tired and leaving the profession in droves. Maternity teams are under continual scrutiny from the media, government and public, but with little offer of support to help improve things.

When I reached burn out level for the second time in three years (given one of these was spent on maternity leave!) I knew something had to change. Whilst I started researching jobs outside of midwifery and what else I could do with my degree, we suddenly had talks of a move to Suffolk on the cards for my family. My husband is in the military but Suffolk is home for us both, and this move was my perfect opportunity to seriously consider going independent in midwifery.

A friend and colleague of mine had recently taken the leap to independent work, and would often message, telling me all about it and how I should seriously consider it (we had worked on a homebirth team together previously so have very similar mindsets!). I went onto the next available Independent Midwives UK (IMUK) “making the move workshop”, and although my mind was pretty made up by the time we had our move to Suffolk confirmed, this day confirmed for me that this was the way forward for my career. I would highly recommend this workshop to anyone even slightly considering working independently and will put a link to this at the bottom of this post.

Things from this point took a huge positive turn for me. I had my drive and my passion back and I knew where my career was headed again. I got through my last few months of contracted NHS work with a big spring in my step and felt excited about being a midwife again.

I am sad in some ways that I couldn’t continue with the NHS permanently. I feel guilt when I think about the families who really could benefit from the care and support that an IM provides but financially cannot afford this. In an ideal world, everyone would feel the benefits of continuity in midwifery and this should be the ‘gold standard’ care that everyone should receive, but it’s not feasible in the current NHS system.  I know that there would be no other career that I could work in and be this happy, and continuing in the NHS wasn’t an option for me. The only other thing that brings me as much happiness and joy as being a midwife and truly supporting families is the time I spend with my crazy toddler and family… So there’s got to be something said about that…right?

 

Making the move - IMUK