An overhaul of how health staff deal with mothers' consent and better access to continuous care teams throughout pregnancy have been promised after a landmark inquiry into birth trauma. or signup to continue reading The NSW health minister on Thursday apologised to any woman who had not received the required high standard of care as the state government accepted all recommendations from a report handed down in May. Advocates welcomed the move but demanded the government conduct genuine consultation when rolling out five high-priority initiatives to address the often-confronting failings highlighted during the parliamentary inquiry.
They include increasing access to maternity continuity-of-care models, supporting women who have pregnancy complications and improving consent processes in birth care within the next year. The inquiry received submissions from 4000 people including patients, doctors, midwives and experts, with witnesses revealing life-threatening experiences and birth injuries along with non-consensual and insensitive treatment from staff. NSW Health had to quantify its support of the women who participated in the inquiry, Better Births Illawarra president Sharon Settecasse said.
One in three women faced "unacceptable and distressing" birth experiences, she said. "Genuine community consultation and transparency on how these five initiatives should be rolled out is vital," Ms Settecasse said. "When redesigning and improving services, local health districts across NS.