Hospitals in Kent are set to welcome back student midwives after their course fell apart due to issues over the safety of training.

Students were left in “hell” after the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) pulled accreditation for the programme at Canterbury Christ Church University earlier this year.

Now a new partnership between hospital bosses in east Kent and the University of Surrey means affected students will be able to finish their courses and begin their careers.

As many as 130 student midwives were informed of the “devastating” news after months of uncertainty only a matter of weeks before they were due to complete their degrees.

It came after alarming feedback was given to the regulator by students who reported a lack of supervision during placements at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford and the QEQM in Margate.

Some trainees reported they had been left alone with patients throughout their shifts and did not feel supported enough to raise concerns or listened to when they did.

The university was forced to put its three-year BSc degree on hold to new undergraduates last September, just weeks before the term was due to begin, after the NMC stepped in to investigate students’ worries and the university’s actions in overseeing the level of training taking place.

In February, the university then suspended the placements of a group of its students at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford due to ongoing safety fears with the maternity service at the trust and placement issues.

At the time, the university said the decision to suspend placements had not been taken lightly.

But the institution said its priority was “responsibility to our students to maintain our high placement standards” after a surprise inspection from healthcare watchdog CQC found a number of areas of concern at the QEQM and William Harvey’s maternity departments.

This prompted accreditation being formally pulled by the NMC in May.

It meant the trainees would not be able to practise and would have to carry out placements again in order to fully complete the course and become qualified.

East Kent University Hospitals Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) has now confirmed it has formed a new agreement with the University of Surrey and will see students return to the hospitals.

Michelle Cudjoe, EKHUFT director of midwifery, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming back midwifery students who are returning to the trust.

“They are a valued part of our team and of our future workforce, and we have been working closely with Surrey University LME (lead midwife for education) to support them back into clinical placements.

“To prepare for their return, we have completed a practice education audit and are in the process of updating all midwifery staff with practice assessments and supervision of students.

“We hosted the NMC, LMNS (Local Maternity and Neonatal System) and University of Surrey as part of an assurance visit who provided positive feedback against the work we have been doing to prepare for the students’ return.

“As a trust we have also increased the practice development team, identified student support available from professional midwifery advocates and dedicated leads in the service.

“We have shared feedback to our team regarding the importance of supervision in clinical practice, with escalation pathways now in place and we are implementing a clear standard operation procedure for escalation of concerns.

“We are also creating a culture where all staff members in the service feel they can speak up, learn and improve so we have expanded its Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) team by appointing four dedicated FTSU guardians, one specifically for maternity, and 20 FTSU champions who have been proactive in raising the visibility of the service.

“We will continue to engage with the NMC and the university through our normal processes to seek regular assurance that the standards students deserve are being met.”