Dear Kathleen, In Victoria the Nurses Board (NBV) directs that nurses and
midwives are responsible for their own actions. This direction can be found
specifically in the NBV General Statement for nurses undertaking clinical
practice/procedures., a Statement which supports the Nurse Act 1993. It was
revised / updated late in 1998 I think. Building on this direction is the Code
of practice for Midwives in Victoria which clearly lists the Responsibilities of
the midwife. You would know all this...sorry.
All I can really say is that from a legal point of view I would say that
midwives may sometimes need to disregard protocols / policy... because the
policy may be out of date, not fit the circumstance etc. I would say merely
following a hospital policy would not be a solid defense in a legal case. The
situation for so called "standing orders" may be different, probably because
such "protocol" would have been widely disseminated & debated prior to
implementation. But the protocol may not suit every situation either. I have
not actually seen your question answered adequately anywhere, probably because
there are not many legal cases. If anyone knows of such cases, examination of
same would be useful.
Regards betty
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