18 March 2020
A petition with more than 25,000 signatures was handed to Minister Julie Anne Genter (Assoc. Min of Health, Minister for Women) today in Wellington.
The #backmidwives petition which closed on March 1st, calls on the Government to address inequitable pay, lack of support and an outdated funding model for community-based midwifery services.
College of Midwives Chief Executive, Alison Eddy, says the current COVID-19 crisis has further underlined the importance of having a community-based midwifery service that is appropriately supported and funded.
“There is an expectation that much needed and very overdue funding for community-based midwives will be part of the May budget. In the last 24 hours, we have seen the Government move swiftly to put additional funds into the health system – and rightly so however it’s important the politicians understand that our funding is still needed, in fact is even more urgent.”
Ms Eddy says Covid-19 pandemic means, the importance of keeping well-women out of the hospital system – to free up services for unwell people and to keep well women and babies safe – is even more critical.
“The College applauds the quick action and funding the Government has activated in the face of the pandemic. What remains unchanged is that the community midwife service is woefully underfunded. Babies will keep coming, women will continue to become pregnant. In the ‘business as usual’ environment, the need to appropriately support the frontline maternity workforce had been identified; the Covid-19 pandemic has made this even more pertinent and urgent,” she says.
A report by the NZ Institute of Economic Research, “Sustainable midwifery: Supporting improved wellbeing and improved equity” was released on March 5th. The ‘pre-Covid-19’ NZIER report clearly showed that more targeted funding for the community midwifery service is needed so women with greater needs can get the care they need.
“Midwives provide a personalised healthcare service which lowers barriers for parents, and relieves pressure on hospitals. We are constantly in homes and communities across the country but in order to be effective, midwives need additional support and an updated fit for purpose funding model outlined in the upcoming budget, if not sooner,” says Ms Eddy.
Ms Eddy and College president, Nicole Pihema, along with other board members from the College of Midwives, met with Julie Anne Genter this afternoon, to discuss the issues and give her the #backmidwives petition to formally present in Parliament.
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For more information, please contact Ali Jones on 027 247 3112.
Additional: The College’s Media Kit is available here