Dear Barb,
I agree with Lois, a great letter! May I have your permission to print your message and letter in the next AIMS journal? Love, Toni >From: "Lois Wattis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "Vernon at Stringybark" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >CC: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: National summit on PI >Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 18:58:04 +0800 > >Congratulations Barb on an excellent letter, accurately representing the >situation regarding PI insurance for midwives. Thank you for your ongoing >support via Maternity Coalition. Keep up the great work. Kind regards, >Lois >Wattis RM (Home Birth Midwife, WA) > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Vernon at Stringybark" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "ozmid" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 7:34 PM >Subject: National summit on PI > > >Dear List, > >The new federal health minister announced just prior to Xmas that she would >be holding a national summit on the PI crisis for medical specialists early >in the new year. It is imperative that midwives be considered in any >discussion of subsidy/assistance whatever to obstetric specialists. > >I have sent the following letter on behalf of the Maternity Coalition to >the >Minister. It would be helpful for other organizations to send their own >letters on this issue to as a matter of urgency. > >regards Barb. > > > >The Hon. Senator Kay Patterson >Minister for Health & Ageing >Parliament House >CANBERRA ACT 2600 > >7 January 2002 > >Dear Minister, > >Re National summit on professional indemnity insurance > >Congratulations on your appointment as the Minister for Health and Ageing. > >I am writing in response to your recent announcement of your intention to >hold a national summit on the issue of professional indemnity insurance for >health professionals. > >The Maternity Coalition is a national non-profit umbrella organization of >groups and individuals committed to improving maternity care for women >during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. One of the key >objectives of the Maternity Coalition is to work with governments and all >relevant professionals to expand women�s access to a midwife-led model of >care in which midwives, as autonomous professionals, provide primary care >and support to women throughout pregnancy, birth and the newborn period. > >Midwife-led care has been recommended by the World Health Organization as >the most cost effective and appropriate model of care for pregnant and >birthing women. Research evidence in both Australia and overseas >demonstrates that midwife-led care, where a woman receives true continuity >of care from a midwife, lessens the need for costly interventions and >improves outcomes. Yet in Australia, fewer than 10% of women have access to >one on one care from a known midwife. > >The crisis in professional indemnity insurance has affected midwives as >much >as other health professionals offering maternity services. A majority of >Australia�s independent midwives are being forced to cease practice due to >the lack of affordable PI insurance. > >This contraction in midwifery services is occurring at a time when there is >a pressing need for major expansion in midwifery services. Greater use of >suitably qualified midwives to provide competitive best-practice care for >healthy women would make a significant contribution to lessening the >pressure on health budgets. As the Rocking the Cradle report found, >maternity occupies the largest number of hospital bed days each year, let >alone the escalating costs of unwarranted obstetric interventions. > >The Maternity Coalition is particularly concerned about the recent NHMRC >Report on Maternal Deaths in Australia which showed a 70% increase in >preventable maternal deaths in 1994-96. These deaths represent a dramatic >reversal in the trend of declining mortality rates. Increases over recent >years in the rate of caesarean sections (now around 20% nationally) was >mooted by the NHMRC report as a contributing factor. Midwifery care of >normal healthy women has been proven to result in fewer women needing >caesarean sections. > >Midwives are experts in caring for women experiencing normal healthy >pregnancies midwives threatens to further undermine their ability to >compete >with >specialists in the care of healthy women. This lack of competition is not >in the interests of consumers and nor is it in the interests of government >health funding agencies. > >The Maternity Coalition strongly urges you to include access for midwives >to >affordable Professional Indemnity insurance on the agenda for the national >PI summit you have announced. The AHMAC has acknowledged the importance of >this issue when it referred the problem of PI insurance for midwives to the >Medical Indemnity Working Group. Any solution for addressing the >professional indemnity crisis affecting obstetric specialists should be >also >be applied to midwives, to ensure that national competition policy >imperatives are honoured. > >Considering the urgency of this matter and the proposed timeframe for the >summit we request a response from you prior to the summit. We look >forward >to hearing of your thinking on this matter. > >Yours sincerely, > > > > >Dr Barbara Vernon >President >The Maternity Coalition > >-- >This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. >Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. > >-- >This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. >Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. _________________________________________________________________ Join the world�s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
