Ex-TV Star now out of work midwife

29 December 2007 05:00

Lesley Crawford, who once played Laura Burns in Channel Four’s teen drama Hollyoaks is now an out of work midwife.

The Northern Ireland actress had been paid £100,000 a year at Hollyoaks, before she turned her back on the celebrity world to become a midwife.

However, after training at Liverpool John Moores University and qualifying with a first class honours degree in midwifery in September, she has now found herself out of work.

And, she is not alone, thousands of other newly-qualified midwives in the UK are also struggling to find jobs. 

But despite the apparent lack of jobs, The Royal College of Midwives has said an extra 5,000 midwives are needed by 2012 if women are to receive the care they need.

A shortage of midwives has also led to maternity unit closures, with units in England closed for 165 days in the last year. This has meant women having to be transferred elsewhere to other hospitals at the last minute.

Training budgets for midwives have also been cut, in some cases by 75% and even 100%, despite the birth rate rising by 6,000 a year.

And, the situation shows few signs of improving, with graduates failing to get jobs despite the tax payer forking out £45,000 a year to train them.

But with hospitals having to face tighter budgets, there seems little room to financially meet this need for more midwives.

What do you think about the midwife shortage? Leave your comments below