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3.5 The Lead Maternity Carer must have an Access Agreement with any Maternity Facility that s/he wishes to utilise. The Access Agreement to be used by all Lead Maternity Carers and Maternity Facilities is included in the Notice as Appendix II.

3.6 The Lead Maternity Carer is required to make every effort to attend a woman within, on average, twenty minutes of the woman’s arrival at the Maternity Facility or Birthing Unit where she will give birth.

3.7 The Lead Maternity Carer, when caring for a woman in a Maternity Facility, will support the Maternity Facility in implementing the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI).

3.8 The Lead Maternity Carer will exercise wise clinical judgment about the services s/he provides, taking into account the limits of her or his own competency and the Referral Guidelines. Where a consultation occurs with a Specialist, any decision regarding ongoing clinical roles and responsibilities will be documented and will involve a three way process between the Specialist, the Lead Maternity Carer and the woman concerned. The outcome for the health of the woman and baby will be the paramount consideration.

3.9 Where responsibility for the woman’s care transfers to Secondary Maternity after Established Labour, the Lead Maternity Carer will continue to be available to support the woman (except where this is unreasonable because of a lengthy labour or because the Lead Maternity Carer has accompanied the woman by air/road ambulance and the Lead Maternity Carer needs to return on this ambulance).

3.10 Where there is a transfer of care to either the Secondary Maternity or Specialist Neonate service, clinical responsibility for the woman/baby transfers to the Secondary Maternity or Specialist Neonate service until such time as there is a transfer of care back to the Lead Maternity Carer. Any transfer of care will be documented in the clinical notes.

4.0 SERVICE SPECIFICATIONS FOR LEAD MATERNITY CARE MODULES

4.1 Registration

The Lead Maternity Carer will provide all of the following services where a payment for this service is claimed:

(a) inform the woman regarding:

• the role of the Lead Maternity Carer, confirming that the Lead Maternity Carer will meet the quality requirements in clause C3 of this Notice
• the contact details of the Lead Maternity Carer
• the standards of care to be expected
• the availability of Pregnancy and Parenting Education
• the availability of Paid Parental Leave, where applicable;

(b) conduct a comprehensive pregnancy assessment of the woman including a physical examination, an assessment of her general health, family and obstetric history;

(c) commence and document a Care Plan to be used and updated throughout all Modules covering, as a minimum, the items listed in Appendix III; and

(d) arrange for the woman to hold a copy of her Care Plan and her clinical notes (or, if the woman prefers, to be given a copy of her clinical notes following the completion of each Module).

See clause D3.1 for the payment rules applicable to this service.

4.2 Second Trimester

The Lead Maternity Carer will provide all of the following services where a payment for this service is claimed: