I have now had a response from RPA regarding their waterbirth facilities
and my letter of complaint. They have ignored the request for a meeting
with me, but assure me that "36 of the 40 midwives have now been accredited
which includes lectures and completion of a workbook, on all indications
for use of water in labour, the infection control policy, the manual
handling policy and issues pertaining to same, and the occupational health
and safety requirements."
This is good and is a useful first step. The other issues I raised of staff
skills and attitudes around woman-centred care, inflexibility in the
application of rigid admission procedures and poor public relations with
support people have not been addressed at all. They still have a long way
to go..... but at least their staff will be able to look after their own
needs if they offer a woman the use of the bath during labour.
(Sigh) When will hospitals realise that listening to women shoud be the
first step in the process of supporting normal birth, not a bothersome
annoyance they have to deal with (but only when pressed)? I offered some
insights into the way their service is perceived by outsiders, but this
letter does nothing to assure me that they have taken any action on my
obervations. They'll be putting this matter to one side now, having felt
they have dealt with me. Sadly that is not necessarily the case. Public
relations involves more than just trying to "shoot the messenger" and
vague references "Your comments have been noted and discussed at both ward
and departmental level". It is not too late to do something about this -
and I will hopefully have a chance to see how things are going in the
coming months when I will probably be once again be supporting women who
have chosen to go to RPA.
Andrea
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Andrea Robertson
Birth International * ACE Graphics * Associates in Childbirth Education
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
web: www.birthinternational.com
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