ACT Branch PO Box 269 LYNEHAM ACT 2602
Tuesday 23 April 2002
CRISIS LOOMS IN MATERNITY CARE BUT FEDERAL
HEALTH MINISTER DOES NOTHING

Midwives and their clients are facing a major crisis following the refusal of Federal Health Minister, Kay Patterson, to include midwives in tomorrow's national summit on health professional indemnity insurance.

The Minister has refused to invite midwives to the Summit despite the fact that:
· She has been told that Independent Private Midwives are the only maternity health professionals to have been advised that they will be losing their indemnity insurance at the end of May when the only insurance company providing this indemnity cover for private midwives will withdraw it.

· The right of women to choose who cares for them and where they give birth is well recognised and accepted by health authorities both in Australia (the NHMRC) and internationally (the World Health Organisation).

The Minister's refusal to address the indemnity issues facing a recognised group of maternity health professionals is effectively in conflict with the Liberal Party's philosophy of allowing freedom of choice, according to National President of the Maternity Coalition, Dr Barbara Vernon.

It also amounts to a 'head in the sand' approach by the Health Minister as she should know that the cessation of indemnity cover for midwives from 30 May 2002 will mean that:

· A number of pregnant women accessing the services of an Independent Practicing Midwife now face the real threat that they will be denied the continuation of this service and will then be forced to accept an alternative place of birth and/or an alternative method of care for the birth of their child. These women will now be an additional cost to the health system

· Some women feel so strongly about having the right to choose to give birth without medical intervention that they will still have their child at home after 30 May even if a midwife is not available because of the absence of indemnity cover.

Dr Vernon said the loss of independent midwifery will be really felt by rural women who have fewer choices in maternity services. "Women in rural areas do not need to travel huge distances away from their families, there are qualified midwives able to care for many of them if the Government supports their indemnity cover."

Dr Vernon said representatives from the Australian College of Midwives had sought an invitation to the Summit in a last-ditch attempt to secure insurance for independent private midwives.

"Independent midwives are the only health professionals being forced to cease practice due to the pending cancellation of indemnity insurance and yet they have been excluded from the Medical indemnity summit" said Dr Vernon. The loss of this care is contrary to leading obstetric research which shows that midwife-led care is both cost-effective and world best-practice care for pregnant women.

The Maternity Coalition is a national non-profit umbrella organisation committed to improving maternity care for women during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period through women having greater access to one-on-one care from an expert midwife. 
 
The Maternity Coalition will hold a protest rally outside the Public Entrance of Parliament House from 12.30 pm TODAY, attended by consumers of maternity services, and midwives.

Media Contact: Justine Caines 0408 210273

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