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Revised midwifery courses, updated to comply with new education standards, are expected to begin at all universities by September 2020, with the option for some to start a year earlier,

according to proposals by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Earlier this year, the professional regulator committed to revising its standards for training both nursing and midwifery

courses. Work to develop competencies for future nurses has already begun – with all universities expected to run revised courses by September 2019 – but the plan to look at standards for

midwives was stalled due to forthcoming regulatory changes around midwifery supervision. However, in proposals published in NMC council papers this week, the regulator has now laid out a

timetable for introducing the new midwifery education standards. During 2016 and 2017, the regulator has proposed to engage with stakeholders and draft the standards. Formal consultation is

expected to take place in spring 2018, with the final version published in early 2019. Some universities will have the option to run courses under the new standards from September 2019, with

all expected to adopt them by September 2020. The NMC papers also note that the government’s changes to regulatory legislation for midwives were currently on track to be completed by April

2017. The change in legislation will see the removal of the statutory requirement for midwives to have a supervisor. It follows a review of midwifery regulation by the King’s Fund, which was

prompted by investigations into past failings in maternity care at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. In the new council papers, the NMC noted “there have been a

significant number of high profile reviews in relation to the delivery of midwifery care in recent years”. “It is incumbent on us, as the regulator with responsibility for setting the

midwifery education standards, to ensure that we reflect on these issues and consider any learning from these reviews that we need to take into account as we undertake this review of our

education standards,” it said. It later added that the new standards would be “outcome focused, accessible to the public, and open to objective assessment”. “They will build on the

professional values set out in the code, be informed by evidence of good midwifery practice both in the UK and internationally and will be unambiguous, transparent, and succinct,” stated the

papers. The NMC council will decide next week, on 28 September, whether to agree to the proposed timeline for introducing the new standards.