ABOUT ME

My name is Joanna and I am the lead midwife of SUFFOLK INDEPENDENT MIDWIVES.  I live in Exning with my husband Justin and the children, Jess who is 18, Shaun and Lucy who are 12 and 10 respecively.  I decided to become an independent midwife after finding out about the restrictions of the NHS which provided me with little job satisfaction and the feeling of continuingly letting down the women in my care, due to the poor recourses of my local NHS Trust.

QUALIFICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

I am registered with the NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council), as all practising midwives are and as our governing body we are restricted by thier code of conduct, rules and guidleines.  It is a legal requirement to have strict supervisory assessments and regular updates and yearly mandatory training to PREP standard.  All registered midwives are accountable for their own practice, but as an independent midwife I am able to work with more automony, than my NHS employed counterparts.

I am a member of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), the Independent Midwives Association (IMA), and the Association of Radical Midwives (ARM), as well as having close connections with the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) around my local area.

INSURANCE

Before 1994, Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) was included as part of the Royal College of Midwives membership.  This was withdrawn as premiums were increased.  Over the past few years, these premiums have continued to rise and now stand at appoximately £20,000 per annum.  This cost pressured independent midwives to pracice without insurance, which although not ideal, is not actually illegal.

Since march 2002, even that expensive cost for insurance was withdrawn within the UK, infact there is no adequate cover for midwives practising independently globally at the moment.