i need advice!!

Well i did change midwives at 41weeks!!  I changed to a hospital one hours before my induction was to start.  I had been SO unhappy with my MW to the point that I think it was preventing my labour starting.  My OB suggested a change and arranged to meet a MW that she has worked with before.  I met her, felt comfy and she was fantastic through my labour.  I then had to have another MW for my postnatal care so including the MW I started with (my MW with Tom) and had to change when we shifted I had 4 MWs for 1 pregnancy!

 

But I heard afterwards that my horrible MW had a couple of complaints against her. Do they have to disclose this?  We have one MW in Alex that is going through a hearing for professional misconduct at the mo and I would dearly love to know if it was mine.

I am not a MW but I am a health professional, and if there is a case of serious misconduct against us to the point where it is being investigated by our regulatory body, it has to be published.

Now that publication isn't widely available, but it is a public thing, and a member of the public could access the information pretty easily by calling our registering body.

As far as "minor" complaints go, I don't think we do need to disclose those- as long as our governing body is happy with us, (and they assess most complaints) and we are adhering to our code of conduct then they assume all is OK.

As a HP- we DO get complaints. They can be very upsetting, and stressful often aren't justified. (Sometimes they are, and we try hard to rectify them when they are). The majority of them are down to either personality differences, or poor communication, rather than actual clinical misconduct.

So, one persons complaint may not necessarily mean the MW is a bad one. If the complaint is of a serious nature and has been registered with the MW council, and there is more than one, I would be concerned. But from what you are describing it sounds more like a personality/ communication difference rather than an actual clinical mistake.

The other thing we as HPs are told when we get complaints (because they really can hurt!) is that we usually don't get acknowledged for all the GOOD things we do and the majority of people who are happy usually don't bother to tell us.

Sorry- long post! I think if YOU are happy with your MW, then go with that instinct. If you had doubts about her before you heard this complaint and that has reinforced those doubts, then consider changing.
Good luck, and I hope it goes well for you.

Hi Aquarius, I changed MW for my 1st one, I did not click with her so I xfered to a MW at the hospital I worked at & I knew she may not be the one delivering baby but was happy to have the care from someone I knew well.

I think at the end of the day you have to have a MW you are comfortable with & you are receiving the care you need.
As this is your 3rd one you will know from history what kind of care you need & if that includes high risk you will be keep a very close eye on.

The lady who complained felt like she needed to and probably had a good reason in her eyes to. If the MW is not being investigated for something serious that can affect the care you get then I would stay with her if I was happy about it, but I would make sure I got the tests & results I needed & I would be involved in it all.

So good luck & relax