30 new midwives for Wolverhampton
Thirty new midwives taken on by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust have started work this week.
The new staff were recruited as part of a drive to increase the ratio of staff to patients at New Cross Hospital.
They have been in training at the hospital for up to 12 months and are now qualified to work as midwives.
Tracy Palmer, acting head of midwifery for the trust, said: "We are very comfortable with the staff levels we have available at the moment."
Wolverhampton's maternity unit now has 226 midwives and 17 supervisors. Bank staff are occasionally used to make up for any shortages.
The birth rate in Wolverhampton is expected to rise this year. In 2013-14, 4,129 babies were born, and it is expected this will increase to 4,372 babies in 2015-16.
Around 27.9 per cent of all births were by Caesarian section.
