This thesis investigates the contribution of the midwifery statutory supervisory review meeting to the core function of the Nursing and Midwifery Council: protection of the public from unfit practitioners. At the outset of the study, the positive influences of . statutory supervision on patient safety and care quality were widely cited in policy and practice literature. Regulatory and local failings by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Local Supervising Authorities and supervisors' of midwives, highlighted across a number of systematic inquiries into the statutory supervision of midwives, midwifery practice and maternity care, meant that this position changed during the course of the research. The research was undertaken in two phases. In phase one a systematic review investigated midwives' and supervisors of midwives' perceptions of statutory supervision. Review findings informed design of the phase two study. Phase two used Constructivist Grounded Theory methods to explore midwives' and supervisors of midwives' attitudes towards, and understanding of, the statutory supervisory review process, and their views about the impact of the process on subsequent practice. In- depth interviews and focus groups were used to generate data from 34 participants (24 midwives and 10 supervisors of midwives) from two Local Supervising Authority areas in England. Participants included newly qualified midwives; independent midwives and lecturers. Findings suggested that there are several areas where the supervisory review process is fallible. These include the lack of consistency in sources of evidence used to review midwives practice; complexity of the process itself due to the dual regulatory and supportive functions of statutory supervision, and variable midwifery, supervisory and regulatory interpretations of the intention of the statutory supervisory review meeting. As the midwifery profession moves towards a legislative separation of the regulatory and supportive supervisory functions and revalidation, this study highlights the need for further research into revalidation processes to assure the public that only those professionals who are fit to practice are able to continue to do so.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:699231 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Henshaw, Anne-Marie |
| Publisher | University of Leeds |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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