Women Can do it : Pregnant ask for a midwife

Feeling like you need to join a cause? want to go for a 4km walk or a 12km run? Want to help pass the word about a great promotion to work in partnerships with women and midwives?

Care with a midwife or midwives you know throughout your pregnancy, during labour, birth and in the postnatal period provides you with continuity of care with a known midwife.

Women can do it, with knowledge, choice, partnership & support in four steps....

visit the website http://womencandoit2013.net/ to see how you can help:

Midwives and women in partnership:

Sign up to the Perth City to Surf - order your t-shirt for just $10.00

Meetings & Procedure of the ACM (WA Branch) Inc

It is important for a member to know how you’re ACM is run, its objects (this term may look like a grammatical error but this is the language of the rules) how you can challenge a rule, how rules or objects can be changed and more importantly keeping the ACM transparent and accountable.

The ACM WA Branch Inc is incorporated through the Associations Incorporation Act 1987 (WA).  Although WA is incorporated within its own right it follows the objects and rules of the National ACM as do all the states and territories. The technical difference is that most ACM Branches are incorporated within their own State or Territory and each have State Associations Incorporation Act. National ACM are governed by the National Constitution and the  Associations Incorporation Act 1991 (ACT). All the states generally follow the same set of model rules provided by the legislation; each state may have slight variations. All states and territories pay a capitation fee to National ACM (that will be another blog).

The information within this blog is not meant as any legal advice, please if you have issues with your association talk to them about the problem or lodge a dispute or seek legal advice from a legal practitioner. The information here is particularly re WA ACM Branch and is referenced from the Dept of Commerce (WA) Model rules for incorporated associations and the WA ACM Constitution. 

All associations must have a set of rules these rules are referred to as the constitution. The ACM WA Branch and National ACM is operated and governed by its rules (the constitution), the day to day running of an association is usually covered by a governance charter (yet to be formally accepted). The WA Branch constitution states “Manage the branch and its affairs in accordance with the ACM National Governance Charter”.

Therefore if you do not abide by the rules of the association you will be in breach of the Act and could be breaking the law. Any changes to the rules must be made by Special Resolution of the members of the ACM and must be lodged with the Dept of Commerce. This in effect means if it is not a rule within the constitution it cannot happen therefore you can challenge the event and if you are still dissatisfied then you need to refer to the legislation (both the Act and the Regulations) and seek legal advice.

A constitution / rules outlines the following: Name of Association (ACM WA Branch Inc): Definitions of terms used: Objects of Association (the rules): Grievances and disputes, roles of committee members, changing the rules etc.

It is important to know how elections are held and how committee/board members are elected; the terms of office of committee/board members, how positions will become vacant, how you fill vacant positions and the quorum and procedure at meetings of the committee. It is important for associations to keep up-to-date records and members of the association are at liberty to inspect and check records of the association. All elections must be recorded and members have the right to see how this process occurred. Overall the role of the committee/board is to manage the association in accordance with the purpose and rules of the ACM. In undertaking this role, the committee must fulfil a number of legal responsibilities, which ensures the ACM complies with its obligations under the Act.

This in effect means that committee/board members act in good faith and in the best interest of the ACM, make proper use of their position, avoid any conflicts of interest and exercise powers in agreement with the rules of the ACM.

It is very important to remember that a committee/board member cannot claim in the event of a problem or legal dispute that ‘they did not know’ about the rules and activities of the association.

Meeting procedures: You probably all know this, but here is a refresher: First you have to receive notice and an agenda of the meeting. The agenda informs the members of what is to be discussed and done at the meeting. If members are notified of the business to be conducted at the meeting, then the meeting must be confined to dealing with those particular matters. As a member of the ACM you want to know how the business is conducted how decisions are made, resolutions adopted, who was responsible for its implementation, when decisions are made, who reviews them and who should be notified of the decision etc..... In addition minutes are essential particularly when resolutions are made and elections are conducted....all meetings have minutes that are confirmed and signed by the President. Usually the minutes must be completed within 30 days after the holding of each general meeting, this is essential for good governance and transparency.

Notice: The Act requires that adequate notice of association meetings and special resolutions be given to all members, and that notice periods be specified in the rules of the association.....therefore if you require a rule to be changed (a special resolution is required), therefore for WA Branch 14 days notice is required.... and 21 days notice for an annual general meeting.... our AGM is usually anywhere between Sept – Oct.

Voting rights: each member gets one vote..... This also applies to committee/board meetings... when voting on resolutions etc.... the constitution sets out the voting process, if something occurs out of the ordinary and the answer is not in the constitution the default rule is the model rules or the legislation (Act), if it is not in there, then the status quo remains until resolved by seeking legal advice or the rules are changed by special resolution (the membership is consulted and votes on the constitutional changes). Minutes must be kept when voting occurs, the minutes must reflect who was nominated and how many votes they received, all the membership is entitled to know this information and can request the minutes as part of an open and transparent process. If the vote is tied, then the status quo remains, until the next election and this too is reflected in the minutes.

Disputes and mediation – a grievance procedure is essential... for WA members when a dispute is lodged, it is important that a meeting is set to discuss the matter in dispute, and if possible resolve the dispute within 14 days after the dispute comes to the attention of all the parties. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute at the meeting or if a party does not attend, then the parties must meet within 10 days and hold a meeting with a mediator.....the mediator does not determine the dispute, and it must be confidential and without prejudice...... if this does not work then you may need to seek legal advice.

Midwives improving outcomes: Diversity in action:

AMC WA Branch presents: Midwives improving outcomes: Diversity in action:

Friday 4th May 2012 0830-1630 City West Function Centre
45 Plaistowe Mews, City West, West Perth

Join us for a celebration of Midwifery in both National and international settings.
Share the experiences and challenges for midwives who are striving in diverse environments to improve outcomes for childbearing women and infants in local and international contexts.

Finish the day networking with friends and colleagues at the sundowner enjoying drinks and nibbles.

Midwifery in Tanzania – Jen Shannon
Gestational Diabetes-Addressing risk with Indigenous women and their families – Dr Christine Kenney
Aboriginal Group Practice- Providing holistic and culturally secure midwifery care – Andrea Loftus
Using technology to improve outcomes – Belinda Barnes
Promoting Normal Birth Discussion Panel - Midwives from diverse settings including both private and public hospital settings and midwives from CMWA
Childbirth and Mental Illness Clinic – Yvonne Hauck and Suzi Allen

REGISTRATION 08.30 - 09.00
Registration includes refreshments & lunch
Sundowner drinks and nibbles 16.30 - 17.30

Free parking all day
REGISTRATIONS CLOSE 2nd MAY 2012
EnquirIes: Elizabeth Ashton Liz.Ashton@health.wa.gov.au
To Register admin@midwives.org.au
ACM NATIONAL OFICE (02) 6230 7333 (freecall)1300 360 480

Register and pay online go to the ACM Website www.midwives.org.au

FUL DAY COST (GST INCLUSIVE)
MEMBERS $100 / NON-MEMBERS $120
STUDENTS $70 / GROUP BOOKING
(4 OR MORE) DISCOUNT $10 PP
ACM CPD points apply
*Program subject to change

See you all at the conference.

WHO SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands

WHO SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands

SL: CYH Newsletter
8 March 2012


Dear Colleagues,

In this edition:

Five steps to 5 May - What's YOUR Plan? - Only 3 steps left!
Tools to support you in 5 May 2012 activities
Health-care facility registrations for SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands - Where are we now? What can we achieve together in 2012?

Five steps to 5 May - What's YOUR Plan? - Only 3 steps left!

Here is what WHO is asking you to do in support of the global annual campaign SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands, aimed at maintaining a global profile on the importance of hand hygiene in health care to reduce health care-associated infections and enhance patient safety worldwide. There are five steps in the 2012 call to action heading to 5 May. This month WHO highlights what you could be doing in March.

• January – What's YOUR Plan?: have you used the WHO Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework (HHSAF) to know how your facility is progressing with hand hygiene improvement? If not, use it now as the focus for 5 May is on YOUR Plans, based on your HHSAF results! http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/hhsa_framework/en/index.html

• February – What's YOUR Plan?: Have you carefully analysed your own WHO HHSAF results? Based on these results, it's now time to plan your actions to improve and sustain hand hygiene! Use the WHO Targeted Action Plan Templates that will be provided shortly to guide YOUR plans!

• March – What's YOUR Plan?: Have you made YOUR facility's plan? Are you discussing and engaging with other key players for success and who can help with your action plan to ensure success? Identify at least one or more actions that can be accomplished by or on 5 May 2012 to show YOUR facility's commitment to improving hand hygiene!

• April – What's YOUR Plan?: Is your targeted plan ready for use now, is everyone engaged in supporting its success? If yes, place your Action Plan on your web pages and share the web site address with savelives@who.int so it can feature on WHO web pages. Are you ready for YOUR 5 May activities/celebrations focused on one or more selected actions from your plan?


• May – What's YOUR Plan?: Celebrate on 5 or 7 May! Involve staff and the facility's leadership in your selected action(s) and/or report their results! If you haven't yet, issue YOUR targeted Action Plan, and progress your facility's hand hygiene improvement now, sharing your web page link featuring your plans with WHO to be featured on their pages.

Tools to support you in 5 May 2012 activities

WHO Template Action Plans are now available on our web pages in English and French; the Spanish version will come shortly. These template action plans strongly link to the WHO Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework. Reviewing your results and mapping these to actions is critical. The template plans facilitate the development of your action plan, by outlining key steps to be taken whether your Framework results are Inadequate/Basic, Intermediate or Advanced/Leadership. The important, simple, yet targeted points will help you to execute plans aimed at further hand hygiene improvements in your health-care facility.

Remember a forthcoming video message from Professor Didier Pittet will be available on our web pages for your country or facility to use in their 5 May activities.

The Spanish version of some additional WHO hand hygiene tools also is now available on the WHO web pages.

New WHO guidance document on hand hygiene in outpatient care

WHO Clean Care is Safer Care is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of a guidance document on the principles and practice of hand hygiene in outpatient care settings. Based on the WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care, the document aims to address specific challenges related to the improvement of hand hygiene and the application of the WHO "My five moments for hand hygiene" approach in such settings. Available evidence on the risk of pathogen transmission by hands is presented in the document, as well as practical examples of care situations, in order to facilitate understanding and optimal compliance with hand hygiene requirements.

WHO invites you to start considering the use of the document on or around 5 May in collaboration with your colleagues involved in outpatient care. The document is planned to be issued by the end of the month and the electronic version will be available on our web site.

Health-care facility registrations for SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands - Where are we now? What can we achieve together in 2012?

WHO has so far secured 14 858 health-care facility registrations in 149 countries.
There are, however, still a number of countries without any registered health-care facilities!
Help WHO get over 155 countries with at least one health-care facility registered by 5 May 2012! Follow the WHO web pages to see how we are progressing with this target.
Have you managed to get one new health-care facility to register for SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands in the last month? Can you get at least one more during March?
Share your plans and activities - sharing is part of global learning. To promote 5 May 2012, we will feature your web pages focused on SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands including your action plans, so please share them with us now! savelives@who.int

Free 2012 WHO teleclass series on infection control

Through the Webber Training system (www.webbertraining.com) you can listen to the recording of the presentation on injection safety made on 7 March 2012. You can also register to attend the next one entitled "Implementing change: The technical & socio-adaptive aspects of preventing catheter-associated urinary tract infection" by S. Saint, Ann Arbour, USA, on 17 April at 12:30 pm (NYT).

Closure of the who framework.survey mailbox

As of mid-March 2012, the email address whoframework.survey@who.int will no longer be active. This follows the closure of the global survey at the end of 2011.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment and support to WHO for SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands; it is nothing without you! Cascade this newsletter or use messages within it to communicate with your colleagues and contacts.


The WHO Patient Safety: Clean Care is Safer Care team

First indigenous midwife

Margaret is originally from Broome, she is the mother of four young children and she has graduated from Curtin University after completing her Bachelor of Science (Midwifery). Congratulations Margaret Martin what an enormous achievement.
Margaret was a committed student from the moment I met her when she commenced her course. I had no doubt then that she would complete her midwifery and I have no doubt now that Margaret will achieve great things for both Aboriginal women and midwifery.

Margaret sees her role of a midwife as important, her aim is to consolidate and gain experience as a midwife and focus on pregnancy care for Aboriginal women and help to make their birthing experiences as positive as possible. Margaret’s ultimate aim is to go back up north and help set up a clinic for Aboriginal women, which could help reduce infant mortality rates and improve the health of mothers, babies and children.
Margaret’s mother Carol Martin (Labor MP) was the first indigenous woman to be voted into an Australian parliament; it seems that Margaret is following in her mother’s footsteps in leading the way forward. Margaret’s philosophy is “anything is possible if you set your mind to it”...... Good luck Margaret... aim high, dreams do come true....

Pauline Costins

The Face of Birth - A teaser

Come and join us at the Health Dept for the viewing of The face of birth..... lets make some changes.....see details on the previous post.

The Face of Birth - 20th March 2012

WA Branch of the ACM is hosting a showing of "The Face of Birth"

Calling all midwives and women who live in WA and would like to see this movie: The Face of Birth will be screened in the theatrette at the Dept of Health - Refreshments will be served prior to viewing.
"Scientific evidence shows that how we are born has a huge impact on our health and happiness - as babies, children and, for some of us - for the rest of our lives.
Home birth mothers believe that they are making the best and safest choice for themselves and their babies. Mainstream medicine in Australia, unlike the UK, thinks otherwise.
This is a film about families that choose to give birth at home, the midwives and health professionals who support them and a system that works against them".

DATE: 20 March 2012

TIME: 1800

COST: $20.00 pre-purchased tickets (internet details coming soon)

Door Tickets - $23.00

PLACE: WA Department of Health
189 Royal St, Perth, WA 6004

RSVP:to confirm attendance for catering and theatrette size please email acmwabranch@gmail.com

RANZCOG - Please give feedback - Collaborative agreement for midwives

RANZCOG has developed a template for Collaborative Maternity Care Agreement between Eligible Midwife and Specialist Obstetrician or General Practice Obstetrician for use by Specialist Obstetricians or GP Obstetricians and Eligible Midwives.

It is very important to give your Feedback.

It is acknowledged that the template agreement will not be suitable for all settings and that not all Obstetricians will wish to enter into a collaborative arrangement, but all comments will be considered.RANZCOG

Please send feedback to Rupert Sherwood by email to ganderson@ranzcog.edu.au or by fax to +61 3 9419 0672.

Sending your response is important, this is how your voice and numbers count, please be proactive, read the document in its entirety... and give your feedback.

Sydney Conference & AGM 2011

life has been so busy that I have finally have time to play catch up with the Sydney conference October 2011 - The conference was action packed in more ways than one: WA had a large contingent, some of us took the opportunity to have extra time off and see the sights of NSW.



What I love about conferences is meeting up with new and old acquaintances across the country.... and the world.



The keynote speakers were remarkable in particular for me was Sheena Byron, whose stories resonated with me.



The new flavour of the conference was the creative arts.... the yarning table was also a highlight of mine, as it gave you the opportunity to stop, relax, knit, sew and talk, chew the fat so to speak....The low of the conference was the small protest relating to 'women's right to choose place of birth no matter what the risk and be supported by a midwife'.... Midwives need to be supported from a regulatory / supervision model to enable us to do this...as legislation currently stands in Australia midwives are not supported to look after anything other than low risk for a homebirth.



The conference dinner was real hoot, red and black was the theme and most of the WA group all wore tiara's.... it was fantastic talking, dancing and meeting new midwives from around the country....a good time was had by all.



The organising committee did a great job... thank you: The next conference will be in Tasmania.....start saving....see you all there.

As much time is passed since the conference there will be a pictorial slide show in lieu of a summary, my apologies for that.

Cheers Pauline

Homebirth Position Statement

My apologies for not posting the new ACM Homebirth Postion Statement earlier; the college has worked very hard to meet the needs of both midwives and women:

The Position Statement on Homebirth Services 2011 has been developed utilising broad consultation and a Review Panel (eligible midwives, privately practising midwives, midwives working in public homebirth models and midwifery academics) considered all submissions. It should be read in conjunction with the Guidance for midwives regarding homebirth services 2011.

Position Statement on Homebirth
Guidance for midwives regarding homebirth 2011
Homebirth literature review