Recent concerns voiced by the Royal College of Midwives regarding a system that is compromising the safety of mothers and young babies are fears that could easily be justified by many healthcare professionals in my view. As we move into a year of "consequences", it is essential that we make a sustainable impact on the country's deficit which currently strangles any hopes of development on all research fronts. So saying that we are concerned for the future of our NHS, and the future of healthcare in this country is not something that is said easily.

Maternity leaders are concerned that the service is overstretched, with midwives becoming too accustomed to working in busy environments where the number of women needing treatment is imbalanced by the number of midwives available to help. This is something that can be applied to our entire service as allied health workers are becoming used to working in conditions that are unsafe for patients and professionals.
We are moving into a 2011 that will test both the integrity of our government and the strength of front line services to withstand the budget cuts.

Influencing the governments healthcare policies should be the reality of the society we are and will be living in 2011. The general population is aging, the birth rate has increased by 19% and the availability of front line services to support vulnerable factions of the population are being scrapped as the government takes drastic action to curb the deficit. Despite assurances from ministers that this drive for financial efficiency is not driven by knee jerk cuts it is plain to see already that local NHS trusts, community organizations, and charity groups are bracing themselves by axing many of the services they offer.

The cracks are already beginning to show in a service that is readying itself for cuts despite pre election promises to improve quality of care and the number of jobs available in key areas, such as maternity. We cannot continue to compromise safety

and still expect front line staff to deliver results on basic and safe care, and if we do the service will regress as demand increases with dwindling resources available. I believe we have to be realistic about how much we can continue to cut front line services, expect consistency in results and safety in practice. Patients, not pounds should be priority.