THOUSANDS of midwives are to be drafted into the NHS to cope with an increase in births, Health Secretary Alan Johnson will announce today during a visit to the region.The Secretary of State for Health will unveil plans to recruit 4,000 midwives to the NHS while visiting Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary to meet staff and patients in the maternity unit.The national plan is part of a raft of measures to increase the number of new midwives and those returning back to work as the number of births has risen by 11% in the last six years. Read more