A penalty would be determined as the hearing continues this week.
In a written statement read to the tribunal today by her lawyer, Neil Shaw, the former Waikato midwife said that throughout her career she had not been the subject of scrutiny for the level of care she had provided to patients.
Care for mothers and their babies was always at the forefront of her mind, and she had not brought harm to any of her patients, the statement said.
Lawyer acting for the prosecuting PCC, Farzana Nizam, said that could not be guaranteed because the midwife did not keep adequate records of her patients.
In some cases, no records were kept for the services she claimed.
Record-keeping was a strong focus in midwifery to ensure patient safety was not compromised, but if no records were being kept, “how can that be guaranteed?” Nizam said.
The midwife said she had taken on education to improve her record-keeping and was no longer self-employed and individually claiming funds.
She asked that the tribunal’s decision reflect her whole career, not just the matters put before them during the hearing.
Former Health NZ Te Whatu Ora lead investigator Kim Murray said auditors were alerted to the midwife’s activity after she had the highest number of claims in the country at the time.
The midwife had claimed “five times more than the second-highest-claiming midwife nationwide”, Murray told the tribunal on Monday.
Midwives could claim pay from the Ministry of Health for services done as a lead...
A penalty would be determined as the hearing continues this week. In a written statement read to the tribunal today by her lawyer, Neil Shaw, the former Waikato midwife said that throughout her ca...