$16 million victory for midwives, women and babies!
After intense campaigning by Queensland midwives, nurses and allies, the Queensland Government has committed to $16 million for regional, remote and rural Midwifery Group Practices, as well as made a history-making announcement that Queensland is set to be the first state to ever have a Chief Midwife!
These significant wins underscore the power and strength of working collectively - congratulations to everyone who has supported our campaign so far!
Read more about the State Government's latest commitments here.
But there is still more to do, including securing ratios in inpatient maternity units and establishing publicly funded homebirth options. Read on to find out more about our campaign.
What's our campaign about?
Midwifery has changed over the years, but our health system has not kept up – and our mothers, babies and midwives are paying a heavy price.
Incredibly, most newborn babies are not counted in a midwife’s workload in terms of staffing allocation and government funding.
Our midwives are burning out. Workloads are higher than ever before, and acuity levels of both mothers and babies continue to increase. Tragically, midwives are unable to spend the necessary time with the mother and baby to provide the care, education and support they need.
The QNMU is stepping up its campaign around safe workloads in midwifery:
- The Federal Government must overhaul current funding models so newborn babies receive appropriate funding and are counted in midwifery workloads.
- The Queensland Government and private hospitals must introduce midwifery ratios now.
- Both governments must work together to create a midwifery workforce plan, with the aim of growing the workforce and allowing midwives to work to their full scope of practice.
Midwives are best placed to provide advice on midwifery and the babies in their care. It’s time midwives are consulted and at the heart of any discussions around policy and legislative changes.