Primary Care Liaison Unit

Shared maternity care affiliates

Locations:
Shared maternity care is a model of care where a woman’s pregnancy care is provided by hospital staff and a community-based credentialed shared maternity care GP, Midwife or Obstetrician. In shared maternity care, labour, the baby’s birth and immediate postnatal care are managed by the hospital.

Shared maternity care aims to provide a high quality community based, holistic, safe and culturally appropriate model of care for women which offers continuity and convenience. This model of care is popular with women who are healthy and have a normal pregnancy.

How to become a shared maternity care affiliate

The credentialing of shared maternity care affiliate GPs is managed through a Shared Maternity Care Collaborative with representatives from:

  • Mercy Health (Werribee Mercy Hospital and Mercy Hospital for Women)
  • The Royal Women’s Hospital (Parkville & Sandringham)
  • Northern Health
  • Western Health

Guidelines For Shared Maternity Care Affiliates 2021

  • Description:

    These Guidelines have been developed for the provision of shared maternity care between The Royal Women’s Hospital, Mercy Public Hospitals Incorporated, Western Health and Northern Health (the Hospitals) and shared maternity care affiliates credentialed at these hospitals.

  • File Download: English

To credential as a shared maternity care affiliate GP or obstetrician, please contact the Primary Care Liaison unit on [email protected] as application forms are currently under review.

All GP and obstetrician applications are assessed by our GP liaison medical advisor. Depending on qualifications and experience, applicants may be required to complete a learning module and undertake supervisory sessions at our antenatal clinics.

Affiliates will be invited to undertake re-credentialing at the end of each three-year period. To meet re-credentialing requirements, affiliates must provide evidence of:

  • current medical registration
  • medical indemnity insurance
  • a minimum of 10 pregnancy-related Quality Improvement and Continuing Professional Development (QI&CPD) points
  • a signed Shared Maternity Care Affiliate agreement.

Shared Maternity Care Midwife, The Royal Women's Hospital

  • Email address: [email protected]
  • About:

    Midwives seeking credentialing as a Shared Maternity Care Affiliate should email The Royal Women’s Hospital.

Schedule of visits

At the first hospital appointment, patients will be given a schedule of visits. They will also be given a Victorian Maternity Record (VMR). To ensure continuity of care, the VMR is used for all shared maternity care patients. Read more about the Victorian Maternity Record.

Contacts

For non-urgent enquires, please contact:

Primary Care Liaison Team

Primary Care Liaison Team

  • Email address: [email protected]
  • About:

    The team is available on a part time basis to assist general practice with navigating hospital services and accessing GP education and credentialing. Email and voicemail messages will be responded to during business hours.

Additional resources

Last reviewed October 16, 2019.

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