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New legislation threatens independent midwives
Independent Midwife Deborah Purdue, who lives
at Iwerne Minster, voices her concerns about legislation affecting insurance provision for midwifery practitioners.
As an independent midwife working in the Blackmore Vale area, and covering an area about 60 minutes drive in each direction, my livelihood and way of working is
being threatened. There are about 200 of us in the whole country and we had tried to obtain professional indemnity insurance but have been unable to globally.
Independent practitioners in New Zealand, Germany and Eire have secured it through the health services. If this is instigated it will make working a criminal activity; choice for women will be undermined: 200 experienccd midwives will be unable to work legally and some women will choose to birth with no attendant (very dangerous for mothers and babies). It will affect all midwives by removing how they choose to practice, including NHS midwives.
The public assumes that insurance is payable if something goes wrong but insurance is only payable if negligence is proved, and that is very difficult to prove. Insurance DOES NOT EQUAL safety, which is what the government is saying. The Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) ensures safety of the public through regulation and supervision of midwives, all midwives. We are bound by our regulatory body as any other midwife is.
Every other health care pro fessional can get PII! The NHS matemity service is in crisis partly due to being organised on an industrial model where the needs of the institutions override the needs of individuals. There are too few midwives already, and more are leaving. The government talks about choices and one to one care - independent midwives provide that model of care.
All women booking with me are aware of the situation regarding PII. The government is yet again telling women what is best for them. There are few choices for most women and private obstetric care is very expensive and only available in the larger cities. The IMA (Independent Midwives Association — go to our website) has stats indicating our good outcomes. Our C-section rates are lower than the national average and our normal birth rate much higher. We have offered an alternative to the government, the NHS Community Model, and this would provide professional indemnity through the NHS. All that is required for this is political will.
"We must value life at its beginning if we value our society." (Virginia Howes 2007)
Deborah Purdue, Iwerne Minster
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