Student midwives in Kent have had their futures thrown into doubt after a regulator announced their course will be axed over safety and quality concerns.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has written to Canterbury Christ Church University to cancel accreditation for its midwifery programme at hospital trusts across Kent and Medway.

As many as 130 student midwives were informed of the “devastating” news last night following months of uncertainty.

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.

The NMC stepped in after receiving alarming feedback from existing students, who reported a lack of supervision – with trainees being left with patients for entire shifts.

The regulator also discovered students did not feel supported enough to raise concerns, or listened to when they did.

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.

It followed a surprise inspection from healthcare watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which found a number of areas of concern at the Harvey and its sister hospital, the QEQM in Margate.

An NMC report found that while the university had made improvements to address some concerns, there were still a number of outstanding issues. As such, from May 10, completion of the course will no longer qualify a student to be a midwife in the UK.

Sam Foster, Executive Director of Professional Practice at the NMC, said the decision was made “in the best interests of women, babies, and families”.

“We understand this is a significant decision which will have a huge impact on the students affected and the local workforce,” she added.

“However, as the UK’s midwifery regulator, our role is to protect the public and uphold the high standards of midwifery practice that women and families have the right to expect.

“Our standards set out the proficiencies every midwife must have from the time they graduate and join our register. We work with education institutions to ensure students are appropriately supported and trained to provide high-quality care. We can withdraw approval when we’re no longer assured these standards are being met.

“Our full attention now turns to working with the university and NHS England on plans to support the affected students to continue their education at another institution.”

A CCCU spokeswoman said the decision “has devastating consequences for our student midwives as well as the regional midwifery workforce in Kent and Medway”.

“Our absolute priority is the wellbeing of our students and staff, and ensuring that our students can continue to complete their studies and begin their future careers, to be the high quality, much needed midwives that this region needs. We will work with our staff, students and NHS Partners to achieve this,” she added.

“The university is a major provider of education and training for medical, health and social care professionals. Over the past 30 years the university has worked successfully in repeatedly securing accreditation for its courses with over a dozen PSRB’s (Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies) covering Health, Education, Policing and many other areas of professional practice.

“We are deeply disappointed that our significant submission, in partnership with NHS England, the Integrated Care Board and our midwifery placement providers in response to the NMC QA Board’s initial decision to withdraw approval has not been considered as having provided the assurances they required.

“Despite the NMC recognising the significant improvements undertaken by the university and its practice partners, and noting the time needed to implement the changes, we are disappointed that they have not afforded the University the opportunity to establish and embed the changes across different practice settings.”

“The university remains committed to providing education and training for the widest range of health and social care professions.”