Promise partly realised for midwives but work still to be done

New Zealand College of Midwives, CEO Alison Eddy, says today’s announcements regarding upgrades to the Primary Maternity Services Notice are a step in the right direction and undoubtedly welcome, but there is more to do.

“The updated Section 88 contract, which will be implemented in November this year, acknowledges some of the previously unrecognised and unfunded work midwives have been performing in the community for many years,” says Ms Eddy.

“The College is pleased that a number of its recommendations from the past six years to improve working conditions for community midwives have been recognised in the changes,” Ms Eddy adds.

The upgrades, announced by the Associate Minister of Health’s office this morning, provide specific funding towards the extra time and resource required of midwives working in remote and rural locations, as well as those working with wāhine and whānau with more complex medical and social needs.

The changes will better support midwives to provide the care needed in communities, but Ms Eddy explains they can only be described as interim measures.

“The College has long been advocating for a completely new funding model which could provide midwives with more structured support, more reliable income, and recognition of the actual costs of providing a community-based service. We were assured, through a legally binding mediation agreement with the Ministry of Health, that a new contract model to replace Section 88 would be implemented by July 2020. Such a contract is urgently needed to sustain the essential work LMC midwives do for women and their whānau every day,” she says.

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