Justine you have so eloquently state the bleeding obvious. I am one
hospital midwife who hopes and prays this insurance comes available. I plan to
provide home care for birthing women but ethically and morally I will not do so
until I know PI is there.
To be
truly recognised as a profession one must provide PI for clients. Even hubby has
PI when he is Landscaping in case he takes out the SE telecommunications cable
with one bobcat- don't laugh this did happen about 6 months ago to another
operator. He is now financially ruined as businesses sued for loss of
services!
Barb
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Justine Caines
Sent: Tuesday, 5 September 2006 7:19 PM
To: OzMid List
Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Fw: PI Insurance - urgent - more interested midwives neededDear Lisa and All
I agree Lisa we need to dispel fear around HB but to do that it needs to be accessible.
Your experience of BMid students attending HB is a 1 off. I don’t believe any other BMid course enable students to work with IPM’s doing HB.
They also have trouble finding continuity models (and yes W&C in Adelaide is again different!).
But what I want to respond to is the idea that insurance is just for midwives. What about women? I have had 6 children at home and I have NO FEAR!!! 2 with insurance and 4 without. I understand the legal issues and I TAKE RESPONSIBILITY and would be very unlikely to sue, but this is not the point. I do however believe that HB women must have the same rights as those accessing GP’s and Ob’s. Insurance is seen as a consumer safety mechanism just as it is seen as a professional protection for midwives.
This policy to me is very worthwhile as it allows for coverage on a per birth basis. It will enable many more midwives wanting to ‘dip their toe in’ to private practice that chance. It has the capacity to transform maternity services. We can use the flexibility of this policy (and the business arrangements they offer) to recruit midwives who are currently reluctant to step outside of the system. Private midwifery could actually be a mainstream option with women choosing where they give birth. With PI ,midwives could be granted admitting rights and could therefore offer the marketplace a service in the home or hospital.
I have spent 6.5 years advocating for women and midwives and 5 fighting for PI insurance. I can safely say that politically midwives will get nowhere without PI.
With 200 midwives we can sell 1-2-1 midwifery further than HB (although HB is my passion!!).
Yesterday Manchester Unity refused to pay for a homebirth (even though they offer midwifery rebates) citing a lack of PI as the reason.
HBA are also reconsidering and MBF has ceased paying out for HB’s for the same reason.
I have never had private health insurance and never will, but this is not about the few, again this is about reaching many more women. Private Health is well supported by the Fed Gov and it is a way to reach many more women. Fear can not be easily dispelled by something that is so poorly supported (ie by public or private funding).
With an influx of private midwifery there is a much better chance that Medicare will flow on to midwives in their own right (rather than the current idea re Medicare item number 16400 that requires Drs overseeing midwives).
Lisa you cannot liken the UK to here. Although I think team midwifery for homebirth is the pits, women in the UK have a legislative right to a public funded homebirth, even saying that in Australia would be considered reasonably outrageous. Unlike the UK, Independent midwifery is the only option for the vast majority of Aust women wanting a HB.
Barb Vernon is one very busy person who is pushed and pulled in many directions but like us she is working hard to achieve this. She is recording every e-mail etc received in the hope we get to 200 soon.
I hope you appreciate the benefits of this policy in both per birth coverage and business structure; and whilst I acknowledge some IPM’s with established practices may have preferred that this was not a requirement I hope that they too can think with a world view as we consumers are.
In solidarity
Justine Caines
Homebirth Australia
Maternity Coalition
For the homebirth movement to move forward here we need to dispel the fear that women have surrounding birth, no amount of insurance can do that.
I don't think that because they are the only company offering insurance at the moment that is the main consideration at all. Would you buy rotten fruit if it was all that was on offer ( not comparing rotten fruit with the offer at all you understand).
At the uni of SA student's can attend homebirths in fact I had a birth this week with a student attending. How is it that they are able to and others eg in South Aus Flinders Uni can't. Maybe it has more to do with politics of birth than insurance.
I am doing my best along with other independent's in this state to raise the profile of birth, insurance is not the only way to do this.
I do get fed up when on the odd occasion I have been with a woman birthing at the hospital at the attitude of some (by no means all) but catching the baby isn't the be all and end all of my job. Getting the woman the birth she desires is way more important and if that means advocating from the side line I swallow my pride and get on with it.
All that said I would love as much as everyone else to have insurance as a rod to help me. But it has to be right and open discussion is really important even before we blindly sign up to anything.
Thanks for your input
Lisa
