Page 2466 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 29 June 2005
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opportunities for collaboration on maternity services issues at the national level. This working group has identified a shared interest in examining the development of national guidelines for maternity services. It will report to the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Committee, or AHMAC, as it is known, at its meeting in June this year.
Another government initiative has been the establishment of the maternity services planning and advisory group. This group was established in February 2005 and is made up of 25 members who have an interest in ACT maternity services, including consumer representatives, midwives, obstetricians and paediatricians. The group has met five times, with its last meeting in March this year. At that meeting the group discussed its role and function and decided not to schedule another meeting until there were further developments in maternity services for it to consider. Members have been invited to submit suggestions for agenda items that they believe the group should examine. In order to maintain the network that has developed through the establishment of this group, ACT Health is currently establishing an email list for people to share their views on maternity-related issues. This list will help facilitate information sharing amongst stakeholders and strengthen and maintain the networks that have been formed within the group.
I would like to put to rest a couple other things that have been propagated by Dr Foskey and others in the last couple of months. The first is that the government is in some way backing away from the pregnant pause recommendations. Dr Foskey does not know that and other members of this place do not know that because the government has not yet finalised its response. Until the government has finalised its response, it is simply mischief making to suggest that the government is backing away or is not interested in taking the recommendations seriously. Dr Foskey simply does not know that.
Secondly, organisations have not had difficulty meeting with me. Indeed, I met with the maternity coalition earlier this year to discuss the issues around pregnant pause. I gave them the opportunity to put their position to me in a very forthright and full way, which they did. I was grateful for their time and for their willingness to continue their advocacy on this very important issue.
Finally, I would like to stress that, whilst the government’s proposed response is still under consideration, there are two things I can flag. First of all, the government will respond in the August sitting. That has always been the timetable that I have been working to, and we are on track to meet that. I will shortly be moving an amendment to that effect.
The second thing is that, regardless of what the government’s response is, we will want to facilitate a framework for the delivery of maternity services that is a collaborative one, one which involves all elements of the health care system. We do not want to establish a framework that has one particular type of service delivery sitting on its own outside the continuum of care that should be available to all women in the ACT.
My goal as health minister is to seek to have all elements of the health system work more closely together. That is a very important outcome, to ensure quality of care for Canberra residents in the health system. Women who are pregnant and are seeking the assistance of ACT Health, regardless of the mode of care they choose, are entitled to a coordinated
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