Have your say on the future of maternity services in WA June 13, 2007
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Department of Health
Government of Western Australia
Public Affairs
Media Statement 13 June 200
Have your say on the future of maternity services in WA
Local women and their families will have an opportunity to have their say on the way maternity services are delivered in their area by providing input into a new Statewide maternity policy.
Executive Director of Health Policy and Clinical Reform Dr Simon Towler said anyone interested in the future of maternity services was welcome to comment on the Department’s draft policy, Improving Maternity Choices – Working Together Across WA.
“The Department of Health will be changing the way they support pregnant women and their families at every stage of the maternity journey, from before conception through to the weeks after birth,” he said.
“Our draft policy outlines how we propose to develop services, and we want input from those people who are most affected – women and their families.
“Under the new policy, women will have better access to information at each stage of their pregnancy, more choice in who provides their care and where they are cared for and more care closer to home.”
Proposed changes to maternity care under the new policy include:
· Designing services so that women and their families can choose to have the same maternity care team throughout their pregnancy, labour, birth and post- birth;
· Ensuring women receive better information about the options available to them before conception, during pregnancy, labour, birth and post birth;
· The development of statewide clinical guidelines to ensure safe and high quality care; and
· The increased use of on-line information for health professionals and the community.
· Improving the way services are designed so that women have more choices, reducing the need to go to a health service a long way from home.
Dr Towler said input from the community would be used to refine the draft policy. The final policy will be published later this year.
“The new policy will ensure that women will have more choice when it comes to receiving safe and appropriate maternity care from highly trained staff in our public health system.”
Information on the draft policy is available from Denmark Hospital midwives and copies are available in local libraries.
To comment on the draft policy write to: Maternity Care Consultation, Department of Health, Health Networks Branch, Reply Paid 80686, Locked Bag 59, Perth BC WA 6849; email healthpolicy {at} health.wa.gov(.)au or telephone (08) 9489 2836.
For further information about the draft policy and to provide input online visit www.healthnetworks.health.wa.gov.au/maternitycare
Media contact: (08) 9489 2830
070613-lf-improving-maternity-choices-local-media-release-denmark.doc
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