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Speaker 1: We just got up with Tessa Sizlowski, one of the

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Speaker 1: mums who helped to organize the forum over the weekend,

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Speaker 1: Our Birth, Our Voice, where they spoke about a number

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Speaker 1: of issues that are being experienced at the moment when

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Speaker 1: it comes to maternity services. Now joining me on the

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Speaker 1: line is Kath Hatcher from the Nursing and Midwiffree Union

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Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Cav Ah, Good morning Katie, Good morning listeners.

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Speaker 1: Now, Kath, I understand you will crook on the weekend

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Speaker 1: as so many of us are and weren't able to attend,

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Speaker 1: but you did have a statement read out on your behalf.

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Speaker 1: What are the main concerns you've got at the moment

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Speaker 1: when it comes to maternity services across the territory.

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Speaker 2: That they need to have a big review and a

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Speaker 2: big overhaul and the changes that they made approximately seven

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Speaker 2: years ago were not for the better. They thought that

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Speaker 2: it would be for the better facilitating the women and

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Speaker 2: looking after the higher risk women, but it hasn't been.

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Speaker 2: It has been not a good change and it needs

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Speaker 2: to go back to how it was before, not completely,

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Speaker 2: but the women that are low risk, medium risk, high risks.

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Speaker 2: They all need to be looked after. And more so,

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Speaker 2: to be able to facilitate more women to use the

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Speaker 2: birth center, we need to be able to have a

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Speaker 2: continuity of care model to facilitate that, like it was

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Speaker 2: seven years plus ago. What they think they're going to

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Speaker 2: implement in staffing the birth center with permanent staff, that's

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Speaker 2: their new proposal. I don't think that's going to work.

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Speaker 2: And I've talked to other midwives over the weekend and

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Speaker 2: this morning and they've said that it's not going to work.

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Speaker 2: The midwives that are looking after the high risk women

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Speaker 2: in their continuitive care midw free group practice teams, they

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Speaker 2: would benefit from a team approach to be able to

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Speaker 2: have midwar free care, but also obstetric care, and all

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Speaker 2: of those women that are usually higher risks usually need

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Speaker 2: to be birthing in delivery suite in the high risk

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Speaker 2: unit and also need to maybe facilitate their birth through

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Speaker 2: the theater as well with cesareans. So they proposed to

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Speaker 2: at the moment is not from the women from the

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Speaker 2: sorry from the midwives that are currently working in that

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Speaker 2: area and also on the maternity services, they say that

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Speaker 2: that kind of proposal is not going to work.

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Speaker 1: So that proposal is not going to work. I mean,

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Speaker 1: kas if they implement what they are proposing, what is

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Speaker 1: going like, what is the reaction going to be from

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Speaker 1: those nurses and midwives and what kind of risk do

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Speaker 1: you think we could have.

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Speaker 2: Well, one, we need to be able to find the

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Speaker 2: staff or we saying the Department of Health roll dal

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Speaker 2: and hospital needs to find the staff. But also they

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Speaker 2: need to have that experience of not new grads and

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Speaker 2: not novice midwives. They need to have some experience. They

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Speaker 2: need to have the education to be able to support

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Speaker 2: women to labor and birth through the birth center. That's

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Speaker 2: going to be their one hurdle. But are they going

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Speaker 2: to work shift work? That's what I hear that they

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Speaker 2: are going to work shift work. And if they don't

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Speaker 2: have anyone that's in labor or you know, laboring or

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Speaker 2: having a baby, then that shift is potentially they go

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Speaker 2: and help out in delivery suite or in maternity ward.

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Speaker 2: And it seems to be a not a waste of

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Speaker 2: staff time, but a waste of you know, allocation and

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Speaker 2: where they maybe be on call. I'm not sure how

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Speaker 2: the finer details are going to be. But from the

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Speaker 2: midwives perspective, They don't think it's going to work.

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Speaker 1: Tas I know you have said, there needs to be

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Speaker 1: a big review, There needs to be a big overhaul

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Speaker 1: a staff. How is staff feeling at the moment? Are

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Speaker 1: they upset? Do they feel like there is not the

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Speaker 1: right kind of culture in the workplace? What's the go.

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Speaker 2: With management looking at the mid of free group practice

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Speaker 2: and a restructure that's besides what they're looking at putting

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Speaker 2: staff into the birth center. So they're two different things.

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Speaker 2: So the restructure, everyone I speak to through the office

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Speaker 2: is I don't think it's going to work. The restructure,

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Speaker 2: the management and the support of management of staff that

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Speaker 2: are permanent here in Darwin and surrounding areas, they don't

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Speaker 2: feel they get the support they need. You know, they

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Speaker 2: need flexible working arrangements sometimes in their life due to

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Speaker 2: various things with young children or aging adult parents. They

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Speaker 2: you know, they might only be able to work a

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Speaker 2: couple of days a week and only certain time frame,

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Speaker 2: et cetera. All of those concerns. You know, they're saying,

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Speaker 2: oh no, we can't facilitate that here. But they can't

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Speaker 2: fulfill a full roster. So if they give the staff

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Speaker 2: what they want in rostering wise, they're still going to

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Speaker 2: have open spaces to be able to feel with casual

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Speaker 2: pool staff or agency they should be looking after. They're

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Speaker 2: very good at being able to recruit, but they're not

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Speaker 2: very good in the maternity services to retain staff. They

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Speaker 2: continually not getting what they need in their working environment,

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Speaker 2: whether it's rosters or the way they work, or their

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Speaker 2: satisfaction on how they work and to their scope of practice.

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Speaker 2: If they're not time after month after month not getting

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Speaker 2: that outcome and not getting what they need and what

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Speaker 2: they want, they're going to move to another area, whether

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Speaker 2: it's in the territory or interstate, and they can get

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Speaker 2: that somewhere else.

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Speaker 1: Before I let you go this morning, Kath, I do

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Speaker 1: just want to as well ask you about the controversial

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Speaker 1: Acacia patient record system. It's set to return to Royal

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Speaker 1: dah And Hospital's emergency department next month. It's almost two

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Speaker 1: years after it was pulled due to safety concerns. Kath.

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Speaker 1: What a nurse is saying to you? Are they happy

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Speaker 1: that it's rerolling out or are they worried?

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Speaker 2: Actually, I haven't we as the office, haven't spoken to

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Speaker 2: any of the nurses or their concerns. I do know

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Speaker 2: that once all the hurdles through the rest of Royal

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Speaker 2: Darwin Hospital and the implementation of AKASHA and that roll

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Speaker 2: out and trying to learn a new system, that's all

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Speaker 2: sort of gone away, and they're using the service now.

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Speaker 2: They use the KASHA for their medical records, and they

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Speaker 2: use another system called Jkare Clinicals to look at pathology,

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Speaker 2: and they use another system called EMA which is all

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Speaker 2: their medications. So they've got three system them they need

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Speaker 2: to work on continuous through their out their day. I

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Speaker 2: hope that they've put the restructure and the implementation of

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Speaker 2: the changes that the ED were asking for two years ago.

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Speaker 2: I hope that that's they've done all those changes and

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Speaker 2: that I hope after the hurdles of implementing it back

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Speaker 2: into ED that's it will be a bit bumpy what

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Speaker 2: once the staff learn how to use it. But I'm

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Speaker 2: hoping it's going to be able to be continuously used

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Speaker 2: by both the nurses and doctors because the rest of

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Speaker 2: the hospital are utilizing it, and it would be easier

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Speaker 2: if the whole hospital was on the same system. But no,

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Speaker 2: I haven't heard anything at this stage.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, let us know if you do hopefully you know.

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Speaker 1: Hopefully it's much smoother than last time it rolled out.

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Speaker 1: Kas I really appreciate your time as always, Thank you

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Speaker 1: so much for having a chat with me this morning.

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Speaker 2: Are you welcome? Thank you, thank you, Thanks so much,