ABSTRACT
Midwives from the European Union are registering with the NMC, enabling them to work in the UK, as their Midwifery training programmes meet the minimum standards required. It has become apparent that although midwives were previously eligible to practise in the UK, they often found it hard to secure employment or they were employed in a supernumery capacity for a period of time until employers and supervisors considered that the midwife was actually fit to practise clinically. In some instances the period of effective registration expired or was about to expire as employment could not be gained and practice hours maintained as required by Post Registration Education and Practice (PREP) (NMC 2008a). The West Midlands Supervisory Authority and Birmingham City University have responded to this problem by providing the European Midwifery Programme.
