John Hunter staff calling for government action on International Day of the Midwife

BY DAKOTA TAIT

It's International Day of the Midwife, but staff at the John Hunter Hospital are marking the day with a rally, rather than a celebration.

It comes as the Nurses and Midwives Association continues its industrial campaign, calling on the State Government to improve conditions, fix staff shortages, and deliver better staff-to-patient ratios.

Members gathered outside the John Hunter on Thursday afternoon.

John Hunter Branch Secretary Rachel Hughes says staff have had enough of not being listened to.

"The theme for today is 100 years of progress," Ms Hughes said. "Unfortunately, it feels like we're going backwards."

"It's a pretty sad theme to have the way things are at the moment."

The union is also calling for babies to be counted when it comes to calculating ratios.

It's understood, if mothers have more than the one child, a midwife could be looking after as many as eight mothers, or twelve babies.

It's hoped a push for investment in more clinical educators and better conditions could prompt an influx of fresh faces into the sector.

But Ms Hughes says the Government refuses to come to the table and meet them on the demands.

"We seem to be the last on their long list of pay rises," Ms Hughes said. "[The NSW Coalition Government] gave themselves another ten percent pay rise."

"We can't even get our 2.5 percent - they froze that at the start of the pandemic to 0.3 percent as a slap in the face.

"Now we're asking for, to not even keep up with inflation. Inflation's 5.1 percent - we're asking for 4.75 percent pay rise."

Image credit: NSW Nurses and Midwives Association

Hunter Local Woman of the Year Recipients Announced

BY OLIVIA DILLON

A dedicated Maitland volunteer and a Maryville midwife have been recognised in the region's Local Woman of the Year Awards.

The annual awards recognise the support women give to local communities across NSW. 

The Maitland Local Woman of the Year Award was awarded to Barbara Heckman, for her involvement in a number of community groups, including the East Maitland Girl Guide Support Committee, Maitland Meals on Wheels, the Country Women’s Association Maitland Branch, and Maitland’s Slow Food Markets.

Barbara has also catered for Tocal Field Days and the annual Maitland Show. 

Member for Maitland, Jenny Aitchison congratulated Barbara on the honour, and said volunteers like her are the backbone of the local community. 

"One of the things that really heartened me on Saturday night was that there were actually ten nominees for this position. There were people there who had made an outstanding contribution in their work, people like Barbara who had made an outstanding contribution in their community, and other people who had just made an extraordinary contribution given a situation of disadvantage in their own personal life," she said. 

The Local Woman of the Year Award for Newcastle was given to Oceane Campbell.

Ms Campbell worked as a midwife on the frontline of the pandemic, often supporting COVID-positive women through childbirth. 

She has also been influential in improving maternity care for LGBTQI+ people in the Hunter region, educating and training health care workers on how to ensure safe access for all people.

"I've done some research and worked hard to educate people on why it matters to give the same care, the same dignity and respect, to anybody accessing maternity care, no matter their family structure or background," Ms Campbell said. 

Ms Campbell is also a strong advocate for removing the stigma around mental health, and recently shared her own experience with trauma and mental heath issues, in her double memoire The Silence Between Us.

Ms Campbell said she was shocked and grateful to be recognised in this year's Local Women of the Year Awards, and feels honoured to be an inspiration to other women in the community. 

"We matter, our voices matter, and we're worth listening to," she said. 

Oceane Campbell (holding the award), with friends and family.