Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/3553
Appears in Collections:Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: The buck stops here: Midwives and maternity care in rural Scotland
Author(s): Harris, Fiona Margaret
van Teijlingen, Edwin
Hundley, Vanora
Farmer, Jane
Bryers, Helen
Caldow, Jan
Ireland, Jillian M
Kiger, Alice
Tucker, Janet
Contact Email: fiona.harris@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: Rural maternity care
Constructing rurality
Embodied midwifery practice
Rural health services Scotland
Maternal health services Scotland
Issue Date: Jun-2011
Date Deposited: 16-Dec-2011
Citation: Harris FM, van Teijlingen E, Hundley V, Farmer J, Bryers H, Caldow J, Ireland JM, Kiger A & Tucker J (2011) The buck stops here: Midwives and maternity care in rural Scotland. Midwifery, 27 (3), pp. 301-307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2010.10.007
Abstract: Objective: to explore and understand what it means to provide midwifery care in remote and rural Scotland. Design: qualitative interviews with 72 staff from 10 maternity units, analysed via a case study approach. Setting: remote and rural areas of Scotland. Participants: predominantly midwives, with some additional interviews with paramedics, general surgeons, anaesthetists and GPs. Findings: remote and rural maternity care includes a range of settings and models of care. However, the impact of rural geographies on decision-making and risk assessment is common to all settings. Making decisions and dealing with the implications of these decisions is, in many cases, done without on site specialist support. This has implications for the skills and competencies that are needed to practice midwifery in remote and rural settings. Where as most rural midwives reported that their skills in risk assessment and decisions to transfer were well developed and appropriate to practising in their particular settings, they perceived these decisions to be under scrutiny by urban-based colleagues and felt the need to stress their competence in the face of what they imagined to be stereotypes of rural incompetence. Conclusions: this study shows that skills in risk assessment and decision-making are central to high quality remote and rural midwifery care. However, linked to different perspectives on care, there is a risk that these skills can be undermined by contact with colleagues in large urban units, particularly when staff do not know each other well. There is a need to develop a professional understanding between midwives in different locations. Implications for practice: it is important for the good working relationships between urban and rural maternity units that all midwives understand the importance of contextual knowledge in both decisions to transfer from rural locations and the position of midwives in receiving units. Multiprofessional CPD courses have been effective in bringing together teams around obstetric emergencies; we suggest that a similar format may be required in considering issues of transfer.
DOI Link: 10.1016/j.midw.2010.10.007
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