Proserpine Hospital - Queensland Centre for Mothers & Babies

Part B: Access to Care
Access to care focuses specifically on the availability and provision of antenatal and postnatal care. Access to care performance
indicators were derived from Queensland Health targets for best practice including targets for early initiation of antenatal care and
establishing Universal Postnatal Contact following hospital discharge.
We have reported on two indicators of access to care.
Indicator 3: Do women have a booking appointment by 18 weeks’ gestation
Earlier initiation of contact with health care professionals during pregnancy has been shown to affect maternal and infant
postnatal outcomes (Villar et al., 2001). According to the Queensland Health Recommended Minimum Antenatal Schedule, a
midwife booking-in visit should occur between 12 and 18 weeks’ gestation (Queensland Government, 2010a). The Royal
Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) also advocates for early initiation of
maternity care and proposes that booking appointments should ideally occur by 12 weeks gestation (RANZCOG, 2011).
Indicator 4: Do women receive a home visit or telephone call within 10 days of discharge
The Universal Postnatal Contact Initiative identified goals for ensuring all maternity care consumers receive follow-up contact
(either by telephone or by home visit) after hospital discharge (Queensland Government, 2010b). This initiative aims to improve
integration of maternity care between hospital and community health services for women and their babies.
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