And for all the politicans who have attended the Financial Management Reform workshops run recently in Canberra, they will be very keen to know the outcome criteria you use and the outcome criteria women and seeking and the outcome criteria you can promise.
Can someone please check who among the Senate Enquiry have attended??? Phone the Clerk of the Parliament's office and ask.
If all have attended, then they will want to know how much it will cost to implement this scheme. When you cost this, will you please cost in things like:
i) homecare for every woman after giving birth for 6 weeks?
ii) cost of maintaining and enhancing the skills of specialists whose services women everywhere have come to expect???
iii) the plan to market to the women that you are deliverying WHAT THEY ARE ASKING FOR
iv) and the ultimate benefit in terms of industry, jobs and the environment.
Then give them the performance criteria of the new service - and name it well. Maternity Services seems OK to me. But is it possible under the constitution for the federal government to consider deliverying maternity services. I think that's a state's right.
So find the appropriate authority under which the commonwealth government can provide a solution.
Tied funding isn't on the agenda any longer as Howard has promised state's clear funding with the GST money. Someone will have to find out what arguments will stand water in the new funding environment.
Then...name the service the commonwealth has the power and the political will to provide. Give it VERY clear performance criteria. Think carefully about these. There must be one in terms of numbers or quanitity, one in terms of quality or outcomes for the women, one in terms of location and one in terms of cost.
Then the service has to have a sexy name so the government can sell a recognisable product into the Australian market...and get the qudos for it.
Then there has to be the existing management structure to actually deliver the product - to the specified performance criteria.
If we set the performance criteria well (and this list is a good place to start, though many more would need to be involved) [don't kid yourself if you think we can pull this one off alone] then we can set the standard for maternity service delivery (or the service that the commonwealth CAN and WILL ) provide that best takes us along the path to the maternity services we want for ourselves.
Then...hell, won't we have a great party!!
'night all
PS If you think I'm being humourous! I'm Not. I really mean this. It can be done, and midwives havn't got the skills to do it alone.
How are we going to respond to this enquiry???
Cheers!
Kerry
At 07:28 PM 7/5/99 +1000, you wrote:
>>>>
Hello Kathleen<<<<
I am also of the opinion that we need to use this (senate inquiry) in a positive way and not be bitter and cynical about it. I hope that the committe will be truely overwhelmed with the deluge of information they will recieve and be forced to examine the incredible disparity (bad pun) of birthing services in this country. It will also serve to demonstrate the hard work that is going on all over the country by commited individuals who put women where they belong - at the centre of service provision, recognise birth for what it is - one of womens' most powerful life experiences, acknowlege the important and pivotal role midwives have in woman-centred service provision, and examine the path maternity care is on.
We need to use this carefully, and make sure that women benefit from the information which hopefully will be used to change things for the better. Hey! The millenium is around the corner - let us go into it with panache! We are midwives - let's do it!!
Lynne Staff
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