00:00As patron of the Royal College of Midwives, I would like to send you my best wishes for today,
00:05the International Day of the Midwife. It will be a very different International Day of the
00:09Midwife this year. In previous years, there have always been the opportunity to celebrate your
00:15profession and fellowship together. This year, those plans have had to be put on hold. In many
00:22ways, though, despite not being able to come together as a profession, you have never been
00:28more united. To face the current health situation, some of you will be returning to practice from
00:34academia, non-clinical roles, or even retirement. Some midwifery students may find themselves in the
00:42workforce earlier than they had anticipated. You have supported each other as colleagues and as
00:48friends, and in these difficult times, you have shown great care and compassion. That will be what
00:56the women in your care will remember for years to come. Like so many frontline NHS staff, you have
01:03felt the impact of the current crisis on your everyday work. Yet you continue to rise to the
01:10challenge, finding new ways of working and delivering services for your communities. On my visit to maternity
01:18units across the country as your patron, I'm always struck by that sense of hope and new beginnings.
01:27Even in these difficult times, I'm sure that you are doing all you can to allay anxiety and concern,
01:35and ensuring that joy and hope pervade. This year, the International Day of the Midwife was to be even more
01:42momentous, falling as it does in the first ever International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. At the
01:48start of 2020, I don't think any of us could have imagined just how momentous a year it would be.
01:55I hope that before the year is out, there will be an opportunity to celebrate the year's International
02:01Year of the Midwife together in person. In the meantime, I wanted to share my thanks
02:07thanks for all that you do today and every day, and to wish you a very happy International Day of
02:14the
02:14Midwife for today.
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