Monday, April 16, 2007

Some comments from a Community Midwife's e-mail

These ladies workload has increased by 400% to save cash, now it does not take too many brains
to work out the stress of overwork that will happen and also the chances of errors being made,
the service will suffer as many will retire or leave the job....................... How can you run a service
like this on the Cheap...............you can't

read and weep, but take heed

* We already provide all round care, from pre-conception, ante-natal care (including being experts in ante-natal screening, parentcraft, child protection issues, and detection of the abnormal) to labour and birth in the home setting, plus full post-natal care, including supporting breast feeding.
 
* At present there is no two way traffic. The hospital midwives do not `integrate' into the community.

* I personally would feel extremely stressed at the prospect of working a shift on the delivery suite, where policies and protocols are constantly changing.

* My area of expertise is in the community. This helps to provide high quality, safe care to my women.

* The midwives who choose to work in the hospital also offer high quality care because it is their area of expertise.

* The government wants all women to be offered a home birth, and to have a named midwife. We can not achieve this if our numbers are going to be depleted by propping up the labour ward.

* Community midwives are going to feel increasingly undervalued and demoralised if their skills are not recognised appropriately.

* The down grading of community midwives has further increased our feelings of unhappiness at the lack of appreciation of our skills.
 
I'm looking at xxxxxx xxth to retire

what can be said apart from........

SAD BUT THE ACCOUNTANTS HAVE NO HEART, NO SOUL AND NO BRAINS