Dismissal of head midwife cancelled

A new report describes details of the recent staff conflicts at the National Hospital’s maternity ward.

The longstanding dispute between nurses and midwives regarding qualifications and responsibilities led to an unusually high number of midwives going on sick leave.

The new report, by the Ministry of Health, says that when the hospital’s management stepped in to settle the dispute, one of its decisions was to dismiss the head midwife because the management did not feel she could handle the job.

The Ministry of Health found no evidence that the head midwife had performed inadequately in her job. In addition, emails from midwives to the management regarding the planned dismissal of the head midwife show that she was a highly respected midwife and well-liked by her colleagues.

According to the report, the management lost faith in the head midwife because of complications relating to the decision to divide the maternity ward into two separate units – a decision made by the management itself.

The Ministry of Culture argues that since there is insufficient proof that the head midwife deserved to be dismissed, the dismissal has been cancelled.

Translated by prosa.fo.