Sounds to me as if she never belonged in the health CARE proffession at all. And might I ask who DELIVERs those babies, the doctor or the mother??
----- Original Message ----- From: Fiona Gorrel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: bimid collective <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; oz midwifery <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2002 10:16 PM Subject: The Canberra Times article. > Hello All, > > Thought you might like to see an article that was in > the paper today. > > I particularly liked the broad reference to the B Mid. > > Cheers for now > > Fiona > > 'Obstetrician fed up with the hostility' > GRAHAM COOKE > > One of Canberra's most experienced obstetricians and > gynaecologists has decided to retire, partly because > of what she sees as a growing hostility between > doctors and patients. > > Heather Munro also has "real fears" for Canberra > Hospital, which, she says, is rapidly losing its > senior expertise in her field. > > In 25 years of practice in Canberra, Dr Munro has > delivered thousands of babies and treated the ailments > of generations of women. In recent times, she has > detected a "change of atmosphere". > > "I believe it is good that patients keep themselves > informed and I have no problems about them questioning > what we do, but some are becoming really hostile and > refusing to discuss the issues," she said. > > "The kind of retort I have been getting is 'you are > saying this because you are the doctor and I'm not > going to believe you'. I find that quite demeaning and > it is not the way I want to practise." > > She said a patient put the point succinctly. "She was > a schoolteacher and said that if I came into her > classroom and told her what to do she would be > mortified and angry. Teaching was her experience, > obstetrics and gynaecology are mine. > > "These days patients get fed a great deal of > information. There is a lot available on the Internet, > some of it very good, some totally biased to a > particular point of view." > > One of the decisions that had to be left to the > obstetrician was when to intervene in a birth. "Nature > is not always the best midwife and sometimes > intervention is right, obviously so in cases of > hypertension and breech," she said. "Unfortunately > there has been a lot of antipathy between midwives and > some doctors, and the press have loved it. There are a > lot of good midwives in Canberra, but there are some > who do not realise their limitations. They can't do > everything, and caesarean sections are an obvious > example." > > She had reservations about new procedures that would > allow young people to go straight into midwifery > without first doing general nursing. > > "It is fraught with complications; there is a lot > which midwives must know which comes from general > nursing experience of things like diabetes and > hypertension." > > Dr Munro's retirement as an active practitioner will > be total. "I can't do part-time work because the > moment I deliver one baby I have to pay a full years' > fees for insurance against litigation. Last year I > paid $60,000 and this year it would have been $90,000. > So my expertise is simply not available. If I give one > opinion and something goes wrong I could be sued. > > "The ACT has some special problems. We have a lot of > older mums who are purposely conceiving later in life, > and that does produce a higher rate of complications. > In addition, complicated pregnancies are drawn from > the region. > > "This is something which will have to be addressed > before it becomes uneconomic to practise. We need a > fault scheme as exists in New Zealand. > > "One of the great difficulties in our system is that > the plaintiffs do not do well out of it, nor do the > doctors . . . only the lawyers benefit. > > "If they do win a large payment, even after the > lawyers have taken their fees, they don't get much > advice about how to stretch it out over the rest of > their lives." > > Her expertise as an administrator and policy-maker > will continue to be utilised through her work for the > Medical Board of the ACT, which she chairs. She is > also a member of the Australian Medical Council. "The > board deals with registrations, which are largely > routine, but there are also programs to assist doctors > with problems, and there is a complaints unit for > patients." The council was originally set up to judge > the qualifications of overseas-trained doctors, but > has since widened its brief and is now looking at > standards in medical schools and colleges. > > In recent years she has practised at John James > Hospital, having decided she did not like the > direction Canberra Hospital was taking. > > "I really feel for Canberra because most of the senior > staff in obstetrics and gynaecology have either > resigned or are working out their notice. It was > interesting that when I resigned no-one bothered to > ask me why." > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! 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