The loss of midwifery supervision: to mourn or rejoice?

The decision of the NMC to end statutory supervision of midwives comes as no surprise. It had been anticipated since the publication of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's (PHSO) report in 2013 (PHSO 2013). This found that midwifery supervision and regulatory arrangements had failed to identify poor midwifery practice at Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. It concluded that midwifery supervision and regulation should be separated; and that the NMC should be in direct control of regulatory activity. A King's Fund report commissioned by the NMC reached similar conclusions and the dye was cast. The process in many respects has been disappointing but inevitable. This article maps the key events, examines concerns in respect of the process, and asks: what now for midwifery supervision? Our survival as a distinct profession may now rest not with the NMC but in recommendations of the Law Commission's report on the regulation of healthcare professionals in the UK.