Hello Helen, I've replied to the list to answer the question you asked about onsite medical help.
We are a stand alone unit situated within Belmont Hospital. Our nearest medical help is at John Hunter Hospital about 12 kms away and about half an hour by ambulance. The CMO's at Belmont do not have the training or experience to manage problems with neonates or mothers with obstetric problems and so are not involved in any of our processes. Our midwives are highly trained and credentialled to be able to manage various potential neonatal and maternal issues. In reality, this is no different to how the service was managed before as doctors were not onsite for obstetrics after 4pm. The differences are those that really make a difference to outcomes! The differences are: that the women are all healthy with singelton pregnancies, the women know their midwives and the midwives know the women, they have great trusting relationships, their labours are purely physiological, the only interventions are those of movement, positioning, water, self talk etc so the chances of things going anything but right are greatly reduced. In the previous obstetric service, the midwives had to manage all sorts of complexities and risk status in the women, including medical interventions, so to my mind, the new format makes the maternity service much safer than it was previously. I personally can't figure out what is happening at Ryde and guess it is a signal how vulnerable women's services are to competing and not always women friendly power dynamics. Something we all need to take full account of and never let ourselves become complacent. The tide is turning and still rips happen. Hope this helps, warmly, Carolyn ----- Original Message ----- From: Helen and Graham To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au Sent: Monday, November 27, 2006 4:32 PM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Seeking midwife to join us at Belmont Birthing Services Hi Carolyn I am just writing to say that I won't be applying for the job at Belmont this time around. Whilst I feel confident that I am qualified and experienced enough to perform the role, I don't meet all of the position criteria at this stage, having had a break away from mid to have my son and having mainly worked in small regional birthing units with low birth rates. I do have a question however, is there a doctor within Belmont Hospital who is available if required at the birth? I am trying to compare your situation with the Ryde Hospital situation and wonder why they are having to close the birthing service temporarily due to lack of doctor availability. Helen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Heartlogic" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 5:45 PM Subject: [ozmidwifery] Seeking midwife to join us at Belmont Birthing Services > Hello everyone, > > We are seeking a midwife to join our team at Belmont Birthing Service. We > are a stand alone maternity service situated within Belmont Hospital. We are > a women centered, relationship based midwifery team iwth a primary health > care focus. We are located at Belmont, on the beautiful Lake Macquarie near > Newcastle, NSW. Please pass this on to anyone you think may be interested. > > The ad is in the Thursday SMH and Sat NH this week. (look for HH06/1058) > > on the intranet it will be on there on Thursday... site is > www.hnehealth.nsw.gov.au > If you want to join us, you can apply on line or send your applications to > the Recruitment unit at Waratah stating the number or emailing it to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > The advertisement says: > > HH06/1058 Midwife > Permanent Full time > Belmont Birthing Services > > Come and join the dynamic team at the Belmont Birthing Service, part of John > Hunter Hospital maternity division. This Birthing Service offers > relationship based, one to one midwifery care relevant to women's needs > across the continuum of pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period. > We are seeking an innovative and motivated full time midwife, who is an > independent thinker and expert clinician and able to work effectively with a > great team to join our service. The successful applicant will demonstrate a > broad range of midwifery skills, knowledge and communication skills in > providing evidence based and appropriate women centered midwifery care. We > embrace educational opportunities and strive for a high level of > professionalism. > > Closing date: 24th November, 2006 > > Enquiries: Carolyn Hastie 0428 112786 > > Midwifery Manager > Belmont Birthing Services > Belmont Hospital > "Enhancing lives through positive birth experiences" > > > > -- > This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. > > __________ NOD32 1862 (20061110) Information __________ > > This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. > http://www.eset.com > >
