WA is desperate for more health care workers

The data was revealed in recent budget estimates which showed WA's health system was short 102 midwives, 82 theatre nurses and 349 junior doctors.

The budget estimates also revealed the shortage of midwives within WA had led to 311 maternity bypasses within the metropolitan region and eight maternity bypasses within the WA Country Health System (WACHS) in the 11 months to May 31, 2022.

In May alone, 30 maternity bypasses occurred across the metropolitan area and four maternity bypasses within the WA Country Health System.

These numbers come after the State government went on a midwife recruitment drive last month, with the Department of Health writing to recently retired midwives to offer casual appointments and more flexible working arrangements in an effort to lure them back into the workforce.

Regional incentives including travel, meals and accommodation were also part of the campaign to help bolster midwife numbers in the bush.

However the government's Belong campaign, which includes advertising in intrastate and interstate markets, as well as the United Kingdom and New Zealand to help recruit workers, including those working in the health industry, was criticised by The Nationals WA regional health spokesman Martin Aldridge, who said the midwife shortages were an indictment on the State government.

"The government's plan to attract staff from interstate and international locations is no solution," Mr Aldridge said.

"In fact the government has now admitted that they don't record data on where their staff are recruited from, which begs the question as to how they target or measure these multi-million dollar advertising campaigns.

"These critical staff shortages are also behind the reason you can no longer deliver a baby in the Gascoyne region with the closure of maternity services in Carnarvon, requiring expectant mothers to travel hundreds of kilometres south to Geraldton or further to Perth."

With projections by the Australian College of Midwives showing that between 2018-2023 midwifery numbers would decline from 28,087 to 26,642, if the current trend continues, Australia's midwifery numbers would remain lower than in 2018.

Speaking on the issue of the regional shortages of midwives, the organisation's principal midwifery officer Kellie Wilton said unless a student already resided regionally, there tended to be little incentive for midwives to relocate away from their existing networks.

Additionally many regional settings also require midwives to hold a nursing qualification, which is not always the case, as Australian midwifery students have had a stand- alone degree for 20 years now.

However there are many benefits to midwifery students being provided with a regional or remote placement, as the placements could entice students to consider working regionally upon completing their studies, as well as encourage the adoption of a more holistic view of Australia's health system.

More financial assistance for students completing regional placements would also help draw more midwives to the bush, with Ms Wilton suggesting some of the same funding opportunities that are available to medical students should also be offered to midwifery students.

"Students may be allocated placements in settings that require them to travel away from their home and that may not be subsidised," Ms Wilton said.

"Student bursaries could be considered or a rural and remote placement subsidy.

"State governments could assist in funding health services to offer support to students and Federal governments could support by offering bursaries or subsidies."

Midwifery education is unique in that there is a theoretical component undertaken on campus, a practicum component, usually undertaken as a block component in hospitals and a continuity of care component, where on top of theory and practicum students follow women across their pregnancy journey.

"This is often oncall and unpredictable, so students often struggle with being available and maintaining a work, family and life balance," Ms Wilton said.

However continuity of care models have been demonstrated to be more effective in retaining midwifery students.

"Students are shown how to be 'with woman' while undertaking these continuity experiences and it is demonstrated how relational based care looks and this is enticing (to students)."

However, on the reverse side of this, Ms Wilton said the reality of a fragmented biomedical model of care which had low rates of continuity of care commonly resulted in students withdrawing from the degree due to the realities of the profession not meeting their expectations.

To help combat this problem, Ms Wilton said States could consider funding more continuity of care models so that midwives had professional satisfaction in the way they worked.

"This would also entice more students to join and stay in their chosen degree if their expectation of ways of working met reality of how it really is in clinical practice," Ms Wilton said.

In order to help attract more people into the profession,

Ms Wilton said midwives needed to be profiled as the primary healthcare profession and experts in normal pregnancy and birth.

"Midwifery is often forgotten all together and it is the general practitioner, obstetricians and nurses who are profiled as maternity providers," she said.

While greater pay for midwives could prove to be an extra incentive for those entering into the industry, remuneration is only one factor when considering job retention and satisfaction.

A positive work culture, emotional and social wellbeing support, leadership, career progression and more enticing ways of working including continuity of care models would serve to draw and keep more people in the profession.

A State government spokesperson said the WA workforce pressures were in the context of the global shortages and the pandemic.

"Despite this, WA hospitals have had success in recruiting healthcare workers, between January 2022 and May 2022 the clinical workforce grew by 1107 nurses and midwives (FTE) and 412 medical practitioners (FTE)," the spokesperson said.

"The State government is undertaking a workforce campaign that includes recruiting overseas healthcare workers and upskilling the WA workforce.

"Any vacancies are backfilled using the rapid deployment pool, casuals and agency staff."