Shared on call with SRH

Working with Stawell Regional Health (SRH) to develop a "Shared On-Call Service".

Providing after hours medical and inpatient services is often a challenge. For example, obstetric services require the availability of both midwives for support for labouring women as well as on-call operating theatre staff and anaesthetists in the event that an emergency caesarean section is required. The provision of this type of on-call cover can be demanding on limited resources.

To address this ongoing problem, an innovative project has been developed and implemented in partnership with SRH. In January 2005, after much planning and care, a "Shared On-Call Service" was introduced on a trial basis.

The key element of this project is that SRH and EGHS take it in turns (on a weekly basis) to be on-call for obstetric and emergency presentations. We keep obstetric patients informed as to which health service is on call and ask, when they come into labour, that they make initial contact with the hospital they are booked into, but to subsequently present to the hospital which is on call for that weekend. Arrangements have been put in place so that documentation relating to obstetric patients can be transferred in an appropriate manner, as required.

The trial is being evaluated from the perspective of patients, doctors, nursing staff and midwives. So far, the project has been well-accepted as an effective use of limited resources.