Pregnant women and new parents using Canberra’s public maternity services will have access to more consistent care under a new 12-month trial supporting endorsed midwives.

The trial will allow six endorsed midwives to work to their full scope of practice across Canberra Hospital and North Canberra Hospital, reducing unnecessary appointments and handovers where appropriate.

Endorsed midwives are registered midwives who have completed additional education and met national regulatory requirements set by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, and can prescribe certain medicines and tests within their scope of practice.

They will work across birth suites, maternity assessment units, continuity of midwifery care services and antenatal and postnatal care.

Canberra Health Services has established credentialing and clinical practice requirements for the trial, which will be evaluated over the 12 months.

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