Midwife barred over risk to clients

An Auckland midwife found guilty of professional failings in the case of a stillborn baby has been suspended because of fresh concerns about the risks to her patients.

The Midwifery Council has suspended Bala Naidu's practising certificate for an unspecified period after problems emerged during a competency programme.

Last June, the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal imposed a range of penalties on Ms Naidu, including a $5000 fine, after finding her guilty of professional misconduct in her care of Rizawana Hussein.

Mrs Hussein's baby, Anket, was stillborn in August 2005 at Middlemore Hospital. An autopsy found he had died from a blood clot behind the placenta, 18 to 24 hours before his delivery.

Ms Naidu, an independent midwife, was not alleged to have contributed to the baby's death, but she was said to have omitted fundamental checks and failed to recognise something was wrong with the pregnancy.

The tribunal ordered her to do Midwifery Council-directed training and be supervised for 18 months. Her caseload was restricted to 50 births for a year and for the following six months to a level to be set by the council.

Council registrar Susan Yorke said yesterday that through Ms Naidu's supervision and competency programme, "it became clear she posed a risk of harm to the public".

Ms Yorke withheld the exact reasons for the suspension.

"The public is protected sufficiently by the fact that she has been suspended. The public doesn't need to know the reasons for it and we don't disclose that; certainly we wouldn't disclose that unless the midwife agreed."

Ms Yorke said Ms Naidu must satisfy the council she had the competency required of a new-graduate midwife before the suspension could be lifted. The suspension would continue until she met the council's requirements.

Mrs Hussein's husband and Anket's father, Davinder Singh, said from Britain, where the family now live, that Ms Naidu's suspension showed the health-complaints system was working well. "It's a great outcome for the public of New Zealand.

"This has reinforced my belief in the policies and processes."