[ozmidwifery] Moving on....

[Andrea Robertson]

This information has been sent to me for forwarding widely. Please 
let everyone in the Brisbane area know.


Andrea

--


Seminar/Workshop: Moving on After a Challenging Birth



Brisbane education and support group Birthtalk in association with 
the Child Birth Education Association (Brisbane) Inc. (CEA) are 
hosting a one day seminar/workshop for parents and health care 
practitioners titled Moving On After a Challenging Birth on September 
10th, 2006. The event is one of several being held around Australia 
to mark National Caesarean Awareness Day (NCAD).




The day will feature talks and workshops by respected health 
professionals such as Dr Sarah Buckley, author of Gentle Birth, 
Gentle Mothering and women in the community who have moved on from 
negative experiences and had positive births including natural 
births, caesarean births and vaginal births after caesarean (VBAC).




The aim of this event is to acknowledge women's experiences of birth 
and provide much needed information and support to help them better 
understand and move on from difficult, disappointing or traumatic 
birth experiences.




We're also encouraging health practitioners to come along so they can 
gain more understanding of the impact of negative birth experiences 
on women and families and learn how they can provide much needed support.




For further information or to register for the event, phone the CEA 
on 07 3285 8233, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit www.birthtalk.org.




Details

To Register:   07 3285 8233

Registration:  Early Bird $15 (up till September 6), On day $20

Date:   Sunday, September 10th, 2006

Time:  9am registration for 9.30am start to 5pm

Venue:Bob Templeton Science and Technology Centre,

St Aidan's Anglican Girls' School,

10 Aidans Way, Corinda

Building closest to Corinda railway station near carpark on Aidans Way.



More 
info:   www.birthtalk.org 
or email [EMAIL PROTECTED]




Light morning/afternoon tea and lunch provided.

FREE onsite childcare available (bookings essential as spaces limited)



Moving on after a challenging birth has been funded by the Queensland 
Government's Gambling Community Benefit Fund. The event is being run 
at-cost to make it affordable for women and their partners.


--
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Re: [ozmidwifery] moving on

[Mary Doyle]

Dear Cath,
I too have been dealing with similar circumstances 
over the last few years, but am not quite so remote as yourself. Its a shame you 
are leaving but this concern over the health of your mums and babies does burn 
you out and no-one can argue with that.
I would as you suggest make a letter of 
constructive criticism to point put that in this situation, the safety of the 
women and babies is being compromised - it is a midwife's responsibility to 
provide safe care to her clients, and the hospital must support this fact. The 
board must made be aware that regular ongoing education and 
performance appraisal for midwives is an absolute necessity, and in the case of 
a disaster, the courts would make this very clear. 
Ongoing education is a matter of making sure that a 
budget is allocated for such a thing, and that could mean 1 or 2 midwives only, 
traveling to a course (such as the ALSO course- an excellent course held in 
places all over Australia and NZ) and then bringing back the info to share with 
all the others. 
 
Performance appraisals are essential for midwives, 
and competency requirements too are an issue that will be coming to the 
fore very soon. This also needs to be relayed to the board - if the 
midwives are not motivated to upskill then the directive must come from above to 
make them do so. 
Lastly the board must be aware that an unsafe 
midwife working in their hospital, is worse than no midwife at all. If staffing 
is a problem and they keep midwives on just because they can't get anyone else, 
then they should not be carrying out obstetrics at all!  The 
hospital board is putting mothers and babies at risk by their negligence in this 
matter.
 
In conclusion, a new model of care might be a 
suitable option for this hospital, in that some of the midwives may wish to 
retire out of midwifery, whilst some may be encouraged to take on a 'caseload' 
which means the full maternity care of a woman from the beginning to the end of 
the maternity episode. The midwife would be on-call for 'her' woman only and 
that would save trying to staff the hospital with a midwife for every shift. 
This effectively reduces the number of midwives, but upskills the ones who take 
on caseload care. It wheedles out the ones who may not be motivated to do the 
required upskilling and makes the remainder more motivated safer midwives. 

Good Luck in your new venture and I hope that your 
letter can make a change to your former workplace (for the sake of the mums and 
babies) 
Mary Doyle
Alpine Health

  - Original Message - 
  From: 
  cath 
  nolan 
  To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au 
  
  Sent: Monday, October 03, 2005 12:46 
  AM
  Subject: [ozmidwifery] moving on
  
  I am looking for some advice regarding the 
  workplace I have just left. We have approx. 130 low risk births a year, in a 
  high risk,remote population. Quite a few women are sent between 1100-3000 
  kms away to birth, The roster has between 8-10 midwives who work on most 
  shifts with RN and ENs and cover the general ward/mid and ED. I have enjoyed 
  the mid I have had as I get to do the antenatal clinic, classes and births 
  mixed in with general patients. The doctors are very happy to let 
  midwives be the caregivers for pregnant/labouring women unless we feel there 
  is a need for any intervention. 3 of the doctors are dutch and are very mid 
  orientated.
   
   My concerns lie with ( and a big part of 
  the reason that I am leaving) the fact that some of the midwives have very 
  little recency of practise, one midwife has birthed two babies in 6 years with 
  supervision, another has come from years of remote aboriginal community 
  work.
  We all  work most shifts 
  as the only midwife on shift. Management don't have any concerns with 
  this as if they are registered with the board that appears to be enough for 
  them.There have been no performance appraissals of staff in the two years I 
  have been here. I don't believe that the place is safe and there is not 
  enough education to upskill or even to maintain skills unless personnaly 
  motivated.The 'near misses' are never reviewed. I could reel 
  off quite a few, let alone some of the things that make my blood 
  boil.
  I want to write a 
  constructive ,objective exit letter expressing my 
  concerns without shooting myself in the foot for references 
  etc.
   
  Should I do that, would it have any use? Has 
  anyone else felt they have been in a similar circumstance?
   
  We are moving to south west Vic and building a 
  house in an idyllic setting so I have a lot to look forward to, but would 
  like to leave knowing that something may change. 
   
  Cath
   
   

Re: [ozmidwifery] moving on

[Denise Hynd]

Dear Cath 
 
a constructive ,objective exit letter expressing my concerns 
 
Is the professionally appropriate thing to 
do as a minimum
Actually it should be a requirement!!
 
 
 
Denise Hynd
 
"Let us support one another, not just in philosophy but in action, for the 
sake of freedom for all women to choose exactly how and by whom, if by anyone, 
our bodies will be handled."
 
— Linda Hes

  - Original Message - 
  From: 
  cath 
  nolan 
  To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au 
  
  Sent: Sunday, October 02, 2005 10:46 
  PM
  Subject: [ozmidwifery] moving on
  
  I am looking for some advice regarding the 
  workplace I have just left. We have approx. 130 low risk births a year, in a 
  high risk,remote population. Quite a few women are sent between 1100-3000 
  kms away to birth, The roster has between 8-10 midwives who work on most 
  shifts with RN and ENs and cover the general ward/mid and ED. I have enjoyed 
  the mid I have had as I get to do the antenatal clinic, classes and births 
  mixed in with general patients. The doctors are very happy to let 
  midwives be the caregivers for pregnant/labouring women unless we feel there 
  is a need for any intervention. 3 of the doctors are dutch and are very mid 
  orientated.
   
   My concerns lie with ( and a big part of 
  the reason that I am leaving) the fact that some of the midwives have very 
  little recency of practise, one midwife has birthed two babies in 6 years with 
  supervision, another has come from years of remote aboriginal community 
  work.
  We all  work most shifts 
  as the only midwife on shift. Management don't have any concerns with 
  this as if they are registered with the board that appears to be enough for 
  them.There have been no performance appraissals of staff in the two years I 
  have been here. I don't believe that the place is safe and there is not 
  enough education to upskill or even to maintain skills unless personnaly 
  motivated.The 'near misses' are never reviewed. I could reel 
  off quite a few, let alone some of the things that make my blood 
  boil.
  I want to write a 
  constructive ,objective exit letter expressing my 
  concerns without shooting myself in the foot for references 
  etc.
   
  Should I do that, would it have any use? Has 
  anyone else felt they have been in a similar circumstance?
   
  We are moving to south west Vic and building a 
  house in an idyllic setting so I have a lot to look forward to, but would 
  like to leave knowing that something may change. 
   
  Cath
   
   
  
  

  No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG 
  Anti-Virus.Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.11.9/116 - Release Date: 
  30/09/2005

[ozmidwifery] moving on

[cath nolan]

I am looking for some advice regarding the 
workplace I have just left. We have approx. 130 low risk births a year, in a 
high risk,remote population. Quite a few women are sent between 1100-3000 
kms away to birth, The roster has between 8-10 midwives who work on most 
shifts with RN and ENs and cover the general ward/mid and ED. I have enjoyed the 
mid I have had as I get to do the antenatal clinic, classes and births mixed in 
with general patients. The doctors are very happy to let midwives be 
the caregivers for pregnant/labouring women unless we feel there is a need for 
any intervention. 3 of the doctors are dutch and are very mid 
orientated.
 
 My concerns lie with ( and a big part of the 
reason that I am leaving) the fact that some of the midwives have very little 
recency of practise, one midwife has birthed two babies in 6 years with 
supervision, another has come from years of remote aboriginal community 
work.
We all  work most shifts as the 
only midwife on shift. Management don't have any concerns with this as if 
they are registered with the board that appears to be enough for them.There have 
been no performance appraissals of staff in the two years I have been 
here. I don't believe that the place is safe and there is not enough 
education to upskill or even to maintain skills unless personnaly 
motivated.The 'near misses' are never reviewed. I could reel 
off quite a few, let alone some of the things that make my blood 
boil.
I want to write a constructive 
,objective exit letter expressing my concerns without shooting 
myself in the foot for references etc.
 
Should I do that, would it have any use? Has anyone 
else felt they have been in a similar circumstance?
 
We are moving to south west Vic and building a 
house in an idyllic setting so I have a lot to look forward to, but would 
like to leave knowing that something may change. 
 
Cath