Walsall’s student midwives will be the centre of attention later this week when a national appreciation day is marked at the Manor Hospital.

The Royal College of Midwives has declared Wednesday 15 June as Student Midwives’ Celebration Day to celebrate the commitment of midwifery students to the profession.

The RCM said it wants to “recognise the amazing contribution that midwifery students have made to the NHS and to the profession, particularly during the last two difficult years.

In Walsall, members of the senior midwifery team will be hosting a drop in afternoon as a thank you for all of the students’ hard work within Maternity Services. This is being held between 1pm and 3pm on Foxglove Ward (route 225).

Helen Haden, Clinical Academic Link Tutor at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “We celebrated International Day of the Midwife last month and now it’s the turn of our wonderful student midwives to enjoy some recognition and praise.

“We have a total of 50 students from the university of Wolverhampton and Birmingham Central University in both our hospital and community and they are definitely shaping up to be our stars of tomorrow when they join the #RealMidwivesof Walsall upon qualification. Wednesday’s event gives us all an opportunity to thank them for the invaluable role they play – a role that has been extremely difficult through the global COVID-19 pandemic – and encourage them to take a break to reflect on their achievements.”

The RCM’s Student Midwife Forum (SMF) will be holding a virtual event on 15 June at 4pm to celebrate with fellow students. This is also an opportunity for RCM student members to meet some of the SMF. Details are available on the RCM website https://www.rcm.org.uk/rcm-events/2022/smf-host-student-midwives-celebration-event/