A £2 MILLION funding boost will see 41 extra maternity staff working at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

The funding will be used to recruit extra consultants and midwives, as well as to deliver training and will also help provide consistent one-to-one care for women in labour, and support high quality care across the trust's maternity units at Southend, Basildon and Broomfield hospitals, as well as two standalone birthing units in Braintree Community Hospital and St Peter's Hospital in Maldon.

An additional 37 full-time midwives and four full-time obstetricians will be appointed in addition to the 60 experienced and newly qualified midwives joining the maternity units in the autumn.

Diane Sarkar, chief nursing officer for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: "With recruitment plans for maternity already in full swing, this funding is a huge boost to help us develop our growing midwifery and obstetrician workforce, and team training. It is a priority for us to improve and invest in the care we provide to offer the best start for our new and growing local families."

This funding comes on the back of several other improvements in maternity services at the Trust, such as the refurbishment of maternity areas and wards at Basildon Hospital.

It also follows the news that earlier this month the Maternity Direct app, a pregnancy app used by over 5,000 mums-to-be across the Trust, was highly commended at a national awards ceremony.

The app gives pregnant women with non-urgent queries easy access to remotely chat with midwives. It was highly commended in the category of Workforce Innovation at the Health Service Journal Partnership Awards 2021.