Toggle high contrast

HeartUnions: Royal College of Midwives caring for you

Published date
Caring for you, working for you, fighting for you- in heart unions week and all year round.

HeartUnions week is a chance to tell the story about why unions are vital for everyone at work and encourage people to join.

RCM Caring for You campaign aims to support all our members (midwives, maternity support workers or students), by working locally with Trusts through our network of branches to hold employers to account on health and safety in your workplace.

We understand the challenges that members face every day in their working lives: chronic staff shortages, unrelenting workloads, extended shifts, missed break, bullying cultures and much more. These work-related issues can have serious consequences to overall mental and physical health as well as seriously impacting the quality and safety of care that members are able to provide. This year we strengthen our message to Chief Executives and reinforce their legal obligations to safeguard the health and safety at work of all employees and to put appropriate measures in place to achieve this. We are also refreshing our range of resources available to members and encouraging our network of local branches to drive this forward at a local level.

Julia Ellis, RCM Regional Officer for the West Midlands explains:

“Now is the time for employers to take ownership with a clear commitment to improve workers conditions and make positive changes to the working lives of all employees. This is done by ensuring basic measures such as adequate rest breaks and hydration but also embracing flexible working patterns and supporting the challenges faced by an ageing workforce, as well as those faced by students and newly qualified staff”

West Midlands RO Julia continues:

“As we all know, when staff are depleted of goodwill, energy and enthusiasm- patient care will inevitably be affected. This is the stark truth. Staff who feel valued, appreciated, and cared for are better equipped to give more to women and their families. We need to change the culture and as we know the culture of an organisation starts at the top and permeates the layers beneath.  Only by working together can we hope to make a change”

All members have access to our Caring for You hub on our website which provides up to date guidance and advice on making sure that you are looked after at work. Easily split into themes with resources to use such as on mental health, menopause, breaks, hydration, and the heavier impact of these upon members who are subject to discrimination at work.

Get involved in your RCM branch to help take our newly strengthened Caring for You campaign forward in your workplace, encourage non-members to join to strengthen our collective voice and help change the culture.

Together we can improve health and safety conditions this HeartUnions week and all throughout the year.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication

To access the admin area, you will need to setup two-factor authentication (TFA).

Setup now