Dear all The KEMH Inquiry has at last been handed down. It is available for sale (not the bits that have been censored) at the State Government Printers in Perth. It's $250.00 but worth every cent. I've only read bits of the 2000 odd words but it's mind boggling stuff. I think the methodology etc will be used by hospitals all over the country to examine their own practices and they will probably uncover some of the huge 'cultural' problems that medically dominated institutions such as KEMH now have.
Of course the BIG problem will be to make the government to keep its word and implement change from the top down as well as the bottom up. The hardest thing will be to bring about the huge changes in philosophy and practices that will be needed as opposed to chucking $10 million or so at the hospital to employ more people who share the same beliefs as those who caused the problems in the first place. It will take lots of courage and it will be interesting to see whether the government REALLY means that it will implement ALL the recommendations and not acquiesce to organisations such as the AMA - again. The KEMH Inquiry shows that many of its practitioners (not all) did not provide sensitive, ethically justifiable care, or services designed to meet women's (as opposed to the hospital's) needs. Practitioners did not/would not/could not listen to women and sadly far too often services failed to meet the minimum standards expected of a tertiary hospital in a country such as ours. It is appalling that one of the recommendations is that women having gynaecological surgery need to have all the available options available explained to them!! Yet, all is not lost. I really believe that the KEMH Inquiry will help to ensure that women's voices are no longer ignored and that those clinicians at KEMH (and there are lots of them) who really do care and who have been knocking their heads against a brick wall, will at last have their opinions listened to and will have the opportunity to provide woman-focussed care. I think that the users of KEMH's services must have membership on all the committees/steering committees etc. They must dictate what is wanted, why, when and how. The same goes for midwives. If we in WA are to have a hospital that serves women rather than clinicians, the users of the hospital just have to be listened to and heard and acted upon. Finally I'd like to acknowledge all of the brave people consumers and midwives and medicos who stuck their necks out and gave evidence which contradicted the official story line that all was well. Some were threatened, harassed and verbally abused. Midwives told me that they turned up to the Inquiry on their own without legal advice and against their employer's wishes. Unlike the medicos they did not want QCs sitting with them although some thought heir careers were at risk. Their identities will probably never be known but we owe them a huge debt. Pauline Glover and Andrew Childs (the authors of the first report) were vilified publicly and privately both in Oz and overseas. Their professionalism and competence as midwife and obstetrician were called into question. They have now been vindicated. The problems they identified in a short period of time are pretty much what the Inquiry found. There were also many 'consumers' who gave evidence. It was so hard for them having to drag up the past and confront their pain, but they did come forward. It's a pity that some of their stories have been censored but enough came out for the Inquiry to make some really positive recommendations and they haven't 'disappeared'. It can only get better and hopefully KEMH and WA can move forward to a very bright future! Carol -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
