MIDWIFERY EDUCATION

That this House notes that the quality of modern midwifery practice is directly related to the education and training received by students of midwifery; and notes that direct entry is the increasingly preferred route to midwifery qualification and that half of all students now enter the midwifery profession directly with no previous health care experience and embark on a unique and separate education programme within the higher education sector; and that future regulation must therefore recognise the uniqueness of the profession by the provision of a midwifery board.