REGINA — The Government of Saskatchewan is making amendments to The Midwifery Regulations.
According to a press release, these amendments support midwives to provide care to their full scope of practice.
The amendments — proposed by the Saskatchewan College of Midwives (SCM) — allow midwives to prescribe and administer appropriate drugs, order x-rays where clinically appropriate and conduct newborn hearing screenings.
The regulatory change allows midwives to prescribe from a category of drugs, rather than from a specific list of drugs. Previously, when a new drug became available it would have to be added to the regulations before midwives could prescribe it. This change removes regulatory barriers to safe and appropriate patient care.
The SCM will require members to participate in necessary training and continually update competencies to ensure they can provide these expanded services. Midwives employed by the Saskatchewan Health Authority will also be required to meet professional development, education and training as a requirement of employment.
In Saskatchewan, midwives work as specialists in uncomplicated pregnancy resulting in normal birth, including the assessment and monitoring of women and their babies during pregnancy, labour, birth and the postpartum period. Midwives in the province have special education and training and are registered and licensed by the SCM.
As part of the regulatory amendment process, the Ministry of Health consulted with key stakeholders, including the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan and the Midwives Association of Saskatchewan. These stakeholders are supportive of the new regulatory changes, the release states.
