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" The health minister has admitted that several regions across the country have had to put a freeze on the hiring of midwives. Ivan Lewis said that the freeze is necessary for certain trusts to get back on a financial footing after having run into financial problems last year. In some regions where the birth rate is increasing, some newly qualified midwives have found themselves unable to find any work. Speaking on Channel 4&amp;#039;s News at Noon, Mr Lewis said: &amp;quot;I understand the frustrations of newly qualified midwives who are seeking employment and over time I am very confident that that situation will improve.  &amp;quot;But in some areas as a result of the need to get budgets back under control it&amp;#039;s true that there will be some vacancies being frozen.&amp;quot; A consultant obstetrician and medical adviser for NHS north west, Michael Maresh, speaking on the same programme, said that more midwives are indeed needed and that the increased birthrate is not &amp;quot;just a blip&amp;quot;. Meanwhile, a recent review by the Healthcare Commission found that at least half of all NHS trusts were in need of improvement on patent care and financial management. \u00A9 Adfero Ltd "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a14317/minister-admits-freeze-on-hiring-midwives/>