... to the Senate Inquiry (today) and the National Registration and Accreditation exposure draft Bill B (last week).
The submissions will be made available for public access.
Today I would like to tell readers about the way one community responded to these inquiries. I received an email, followed by a phone call, from Ellie, a mother from Castlemaine. She and I had met some years ago. Ellie wanted to know what "we" - she and her friends - could do. She explained to me that there are 25-30 homebirths each year in that area.
After chatting, I suggested that Ellie ask anyone in her community who was concerned about the potential loss of private midwifery in their community should write an impact statement, and send it to me. I offered to save them as .pdf files and forward them on electronically to the inquiries.
Ellie quickly prepared a letter and distributed it. With only about a week before the submissions were due, I hoped a few people would be able to write their impact statements.
What a delight it has been to send off 29 impact statements today to the Senate inquiry, along with my own submission! The messages came by email, fax and post. Some are hand written. They are from mothers, fathers, grandparents, and local professionals.
The midwives who attend births in that area are truly loved and respected. On their behalf, I thank all those who took the time to write impact statements.
Joy Johnston
No comments:
Post a Comment