Collaborative arrangements for Midwives:

Well; after a long awaited time we finally know what the collaborative arrangements are.....I must say I am disappointed...after lots of negotiation I feel let down and that the machinery of money, politics and power have yet again trampled on the profession of midwifery.

The other issue is the upcoming election; we are in a crucial stage....Labour stays so does the current status quo...Liberal in and we lose it all....I do think that NICOLA ROXON Minister for Health and Ageing has tried to do the best for Midwives and also trying to accommodate the AMA.....without losing any ground and yes she too has to protect her position so that Labour remains in power.

This document is hard to read, you need to read it several times to work out exactly what it is saying.
For example if you read this section:

Specified medical practitioners
For the definition of authorised midwife in subsection 84 (1) of the Act, the
following kinds of medical practitioner are specified:
(a) an obstetrician;
(b) a medical practitioner who provides obstetric services;
(c) a medical practitioner employed or engaged by a hospital authority and authorised by the hospital authority to participate in a collaborative
arrangement.

First impression is that an independent midwife or private practice midwife cannot practice without having an obstetrician sign them off..... however (c) indicates that any hospital doctor can act as an collaborative partner...therefore the hospital will act as an collaborative partner....

Now if we look at section 7: this part is more hopeful in that if we get a hospital to support private practice this will work as collaborative arrangement: we could extend it to domino births.....the problem with all this collaborative how much is truly required.... if everything is normal then there needs to be no collaboration....and yes...there has to be a hospital booking which will mean collaboration with a doctor...at least once..but thereafter you would not see the doctor again if everything is normal....and this is as it should be.....

Arrangement — midwife’s written records
(1) An eligible midwife must record the following for a patient in the midwife’s
written records:
(a) the name of at least 1 specified medical practitioner who is, or will be,
collaborating with the midwife in the patient’s care (a named medical
practitioner);(b) that the midwife has told the patient that the midwife will be providing midwifery services to the patient in collaboration with 1 or more
specified medical practitioners in accordance with this section;
(c) acknowledgement by a named medical practitioner that the practitioner
will be collaborating in the patient’s care;

If doctors truly were collaborative they would be referring more women to our current Birth Centers, but they do not because they want the control and money.... It is hard to even imagine that doctors will refer to the midwife....for normal care...because they do not even believe in Birth Centres.... how will they make this massive change when they do not even support homebirth.....?
I would like to see that they are made to refer women to midwives... instead of the old school boy tie club and kick backs to specialists.....

The bottom line is, it's the women's choice....it is about continuity of care and that every woman needs a midwife.

Keep focused on the dream, the passion and the right of women to choose where they want to birth their babies, the right to informed choice and the right to have a midwife.

Click on this link:
National Health (Collaborative arrangements for midwives) Determination 2010