Western Health is taking diversity of choice in care to a new level with the recently announced additions to Women's and Children's services at Sunshine Hospital.
The Caseload Model of Care was announced on 5 May (International Midwives Day) which will extend the range of options available for women planning to have a child at Sunshine Hospital.
Caseload Midwifery is a model where women have a one-to-one relationship with a midwife for pregnancy, labour, birth and postnatal care.
Women are matched with one midwife and a second midwife acts as a back-up.
Over 3500 babies are born each year at Sunshine Hospital which is the third largest maternity hospital in Victoria.
Sunshine Hospital is in an ideal position to initiate Caseload Midwifery. Birth rates at Sunshine Hospital have increased with population projections for childbearing women in the Western Health region predicted to significantly increase over the next 20 years. The catchment area for Sunshine Hospital extends from Williamstown to Sunbury and out along the growth corridor of Caroline Springs and Melton.
Western Health services the fastest growing community in Australia, and many in this community are young, growing families. Strategic investment in women's and children's services at Sunshine Hospital is fundamental to servicing future needs of the community.
The West also has the most culturally diverse community in Victoria, so health services have to be culturally appropriate and meet a broad range of health needs.
Where interpreters are required, allocation of a single interpreter encourages relationships of trust to be built up over the duration of the woman's pregnancy health care.
Women will have the choice to change their model of care between the Caseload Model and more traditional models of care which include Shared Care with a GP, and specialist clinics.
This flexibility also extends to the maternity services staff, as the diversity of career choice for staff will increase. Midwifery nurses have the option to choose between working in the Caseload Model of Care or to remain in a more traditional model of care. Nurses have the option to specialise - developing deep professional expertise in a single area of midwifery practice - or to continue to rotate between birthing and maternity services and retain a broad scope of professional practice. With Western Health, midwives now have the flexibility to move between these options throughout their career, rather than be locked into a single model of care. This appeals in particular to younger nurses who may need to build skills and experience in a range of areas of midwifery practice before having to "lock into" a particular role or area of specialisation.
Government has committed to a major redevelopment of Sunshine Hospital, the first stage of which is the redevelopment of birthing and maternity service facilities. This means that soon midwives at Western Health will not only be offering the best possible choice of models of maternity services, but providing these services in the newest, purpose-built facilities in the State. The next stage of development will be the building of a new tertiary teaching and research facility will cement Western Health's Sunshine Hospital as a leading centre of teaching and learning for current and future health professionals.
The future of birthing and maternity services at Sunshine is very bright.
