Public meeting - Beaudesert maternity services project - Tues 25th May, 6.30pm, Beaudesert RSL

You are invited to be a part of this very exciting event. Queensland Health is in the process of designing a new maternity service that will provide continuity of care with a midwife for women in and around Beaudesert. Consumers should know that this is an opportunity to be a part of the design and implementation. By being involved we can greatly enhance the service and keep it going - nothing is set in stone! This service will fulfill 'Birth on Country' requirements for our indigenous sisters and will keep birth local.

After years of Beaudesert's maternity service being closed, reopened, and closed again due to problems finding the right doctor to run it, the plan is to set up a midwifery "primary care" model. This will be run by midwives based in Beaudesert, providing care in the community and at the hospital, and referring women with medical or complex needs to local GPs or to Logan Hospital. Women with straightforward pregnancies will be able to birth in Beaudesert Hospital, while women with more complex needs will mostly birth at Logan. This model works well at Mareeba (near Cairns), in several hospitals in NSW, and in many hospitals in other countries (e.g. New Zealand, Canada, etc).

While there is a very promising proposal on the table, this is by no means a done deal. Some people in Qld Health are nervous about providing birthing services at a distance from a fully-equipped operating theatre, and the project does not yet have full sign-off. Strong community support will be needed to make Beaudesert the first rural maternity unit in Qld to be re-established in many years.

MC members are strongly encouraged to come to learn how this is possible in your area and meet and greet with others interested in seeing excellent maternity services everywhere. If you know anyone in this area, not just pregnant women or mothers but anyone, please let them know this is an important part of keeping communities strong, by having birth local with a known midwife and will enhance the whole community.

For more info call Alison Gaffney from Maternity Coalition on (07) 4683 2888 or 0404 648 486