Glen Innes Hospital's new maternity services to provide 'continuity of care'

Glen Innes Hospital launched its re-established maternity services on Wednesday, May 8, introducing its midwives and maternity staff to the community, along with the new model of care.

These services will feature a new collaborative model of care and will offer women continuity and personalised care from a known midwife, in partnership with a general practitioner (GP) obstetrician.

Women haven't been able to birth at Glen Innes for the past two years, instead they were required to travel out of area for maternity care.

But now, with the support and backup of Glen Innes' Dr Phillip Correy, who will work collaboratively with the midwives, pregnant women can receive maternity care locally.

"Women can come and have their antenatal care with the midwives," said Ms Grist. "But where they actually birth is guided by the risk factor when we consult with the GP obstetrician

"If they're assessed at this stage as a low risk for their birth, there's no complications and the risk assessment shows that it's safe for women to have their babies at Glen Innes with the midwives, then those women can birth there, and they can have their postnatal care there.

"If women, at this stage, are assessed that it's safe for them to birth at a larger site, that midwife can go with them as well and be with them at their birth at Inverell or Armidale."

Ms Grist said they are hoping over time, when staffing levels get to full optimum amounts, more women will be able to birth at Glen Innes Hospital.

"It's a wonderful platform we're starting with and it's wonderful that women can have their babies there," she said.

A shortage of midwives and GP obstetricians in rural areas has restricted the possibility of have more of these kinds of collaborative models.

However, Ms Grist said women want continuity of care when it comes to their maternity care.

"They've told us very clearly around Australia that they want that familiarity with their midwives, they want continuity of care," she said.

"When we advertised to recruit for this model, the spots were all filled.

"So it shows that midwives also want to work to their scope of practice and work in that continuity of care model where they follow the mother through the antenatal period, intrapartum and postpartum period."

All pregnant women in the Glen Innes have access to the program, with Ms Grist believing the ability for women to form professional relationships with the midwives and GP obstetricians is wonderful.

"It won't just finish when the baby's born either," she said. "I think that it's going to be a wonderful thing.

"I think for rural women, it's fabulous to know that birthing is once again in their own local community.

"They don't have to travel great distances. We're very excited about this and we hope that this model grows."

Ms Grist said they'd love more doctors to come to the regions to support the midwives.

"I think that when I say the model could grow, it's dependent on GP obstetricians and anaesthetist and theatre staff, in case any interventions are required," she said.

"So at this stage, we're not at full model ... but it's great as a starting point, and we'll see how things develop. I always believe build it and they'll come."

The launch of the services on Wednesday at Glen Innes Hospital saw a good response from the community.

"There was such a wonderful community feeling there and it was really palpable," said Ms Grist.

"A lot of women with babies there, women that had birth there prior to two years ago.

"It's wonderful for the community to know that the service is there for them. It was just such a joyous occasion today."