Written question WQ87591
- Asked by
- Andrew RT DaviesConservative
- To be answered by
- Minister for Health and Social Services
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 10 days
Question
What proportion of student midwives (a) successfully completed their studies, and (b) went on to work in the NHS between 2015 and 2022, providing a breakdown of each year?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Health and Social Services
(a) The table below shows intake and graduate numbers for academic years 2015/16 to 2021/22. The course is now 3 years in duration.
2012/
13
2013/
14
2014/
15
2015/
16
2016/17
2017/
18
2018/
19
2019/
20
2020/
21
2021/
22
Student Intake Numbers
102
110
94
94
91
134
134
135
162
185
Graduated
2015/
16
2016/
17
2017/
18
2018/
19
2019/20
2020/
21
2021/
22
2022/
23
2023/
24
2024/
25
Numbers that Graduated
88
104
79
91
1012
106
121
103
Not yet graduated
Not yet graduated
1 HEIW data from 2018/19 shows there are some students recruited in the 2018 and 2019 cohort years, who are still in the programme and have interruptions of study (IOS) e.g., due to parental leave, etc. Effectively these students will complete their studies later than originally planned, creating some anomalies within the data.
2 Up until 2018/19, the midwifery programmes varied in duration (i.e., up until 2018/19 the midwifery course was either a three-year standard pre-registration course; or an 18 month or 20 month accelerated programme), however data prior to 2018/19 does not provide the level of detail to illustrate this. It appears that in 2019/20, there were a higher number of graduates (compared to intake numbers) due to staggered course lengths and interruption of study (IOS). This data cannot be uncoupled to provide a further breakdown.
3 HEIW have advised that data provided by universities varies in quality, as graduates do not tend to inform their previous educational institution of their employment destination.
Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) have provided the intake and graduate numbers above.
(b) The NHS Wales Shared Service Partnership (NWSSP), in agreement with NHS Wales Health Boards and Universities across Wales, developed a matching process under Student Streamlining Scheme. The streamlining process means Student Nurses and Allied Health Professions & Healthcare Science graduates no longer need to submit multiple applications via NHS Jobs to secure their first job in NHS Wales after graduation. Through streamlining, NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) have provided recent data regarding those who take up employment in NHS Wales. The streamlining process for midwifery graduates only commenced in July 2021.
Year
Number of graduates
Number Allocated to NHS posts
2021
106
103
2022
1231
122
NWSSP have provided the data above.
Prior to the introduction of the streamlining process for midwives, graduates applied for multiple roles, so it is difficult to provide any accurate data for that period.