Maternity Coalition pressures Govt over midwife program
Sunday, November 7, 2004
The Maternity Coalition wants the ACT Government to respond to an Assembly report on child birth, released in May, recommending an expansion of the midwives program at the Canberra Hospital. The Government is yet to respond to the report from the ACT Standing Committee on Health, which recommended major changes to the way the Territory’s two public hospitals manage maternity services. Ingrid McKenzie from the ACT Maternity Coalition says the demand for the midwives program is very high, and it has an average of 30-pregnant women on the waiting list for each month. “One-to-one midwifery care that’s provided by this service is known to be the safest form of care for low-risk pregnant women, and at the moment that’s only available to 5 per cent of Canberra women,” she said. “So the safest option is denied to most women in the ACT, and that’s just ridiculous.” The Southern Area Health Service has recently confirmed the maternity ward at the Yass hospital will close.