Dear member,
We are pleased to be able to inform you that the details for the second midwife fee and funding have now been agreed.
In summary the second midwife fee is there to provide relief or support for the LMC midwife (or her LMC back up) when providing primary midwifery care during labour and birth care in any setting (home or hospital) for the following circumstances:
- For when the midwife is tired (fatigued) due to a woman’s labour being long or previous midwifery work (e.g two labours in a row)
- If the midwife becomes unwell
- If a midwife has an unanticipated personal crisis
- A second midwife at a home birth
- If the midwife requires support from a midwifery colleague to provide safe care
The Second midwife fee is claimed separately from the LMC midwife labour and birth fee, by the second midwife herself when:
- The second midwife has provided midwifery care for a minimum of 90 minutes (requires in person attendance and documented)
- Is a midwife who already claims from the Section 88 notice (can be the back-up LMC midwife but attending as a second midwife)
- Is not intended to be used in the place of a handover for secondary care needs in the circumstance of short staffing
How to claim:
- The second midwife claims though the module DB15 (non-LMC labour and birth (rural support)
- The rate of this module is $512.50 (excluding GST) per claim
- Claims can be made from 17th September 2018
- Claims can be backdated to 1st July 2018 – must be documented in the woman’s notes
Please find attached the Second midwife support services supplement which provides more details and defines the second midwife requirements and a series of questions and answers designed to explain the second midwife funding. More information can be found at: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/life-stages/maternity-services/second-midwife-support
We hope this is helpful to both hospital and LMC midwives.
Kind regards
Alison Eddy
Deputy CE
New Zealand College of Midwives