There has been plenty of lead time before the Omicron wave. We've been able to view the experiences of others around the world and of our cousins across the Tasman. We were able to slow the transmission of earlier variants, to the point that some parts of the country maybe didn't truly experience the harsh realities of living and working in a pandemic. Hopefully we have all used the time wisely to prepare.
As if there weren't enough challenges before, COVID added a whole lot more complexity and demanded more time from midwives. Working through all sorts of logistical challenges like where to get PPE, how to interact with COVID positive households, managing information sharing for vaccinations, trying to ensure women were getting practical support when other services withdrew from personal contact situations. Auckland certainly bore the brunt of it when it came to volume. Auckland midwives had to think on their feet in the pre-omicron waves. The College zoom meetings were well run and an extremely valuable tool for midwives to share their challenges and get information. Other parts of the country had to do similar, and as always Midwives showed their adaptability and commitment to providing quality personalised care for whanau.
All these experiences and the systems already put in place perhaps provided a sense of security as the Omicron wave began. However the Omicron experience has been more overwhelming than many may have expected. While many of the systems continued to serve us well, there has been no way escaping the impacts of much wider community spread.
Middlemore for example saw a rapid increase in the number of COVID positive people presenting, and this included maternity. It also meant even more pressure on the precious midwifery resource due to their own isolation requirements. Already busy LMCs answered the frequent desperate calls for help, to ensure that Middlemore could provide acceptable levels of care. Midwives showed yet again that they can and will step up to provide care when needed.
One of the focuses for Sage Midwife Coaching is sustainability. Like you, we've had to show flexibility with our plans - Sue has been responding to the calls for help from Middlemore and I've suspended our marketing strategy. The Omicron wave appears to have peaked in Auckland, however we know that for other parts of the country the peak has yet to arrive. Times of crisis often bring out the best in people but also creates more strain.
It is essential that midwives, while being flexible, keep a watchful eye on their sustainability strategies. Take care and we hope to work with more of you when things settle down a little.