Maternity emergency care: short course in maternity emergencies for remote area health staff with no midwifery qualifications.

Objective: To improve the maternity emergency skills and knowledge of health service providers, without midwifery qualifications, in remote Australia.
Design: A descriptive paper utilising data from a needs assessment and course evaluations used to develop and refine a short course in maternity emergencies.
Subjects: Remote area health providers.
Interventions: A multidisciplinary short course, targeting non-midwives in remote areas, aimed at improving knowledge and skills in detection, management and referral of maternity emergencies.
Results: Ten courses have been delivered to 175 participants. Evaluations demonstrate a highly valued program, well received and supported by remote health staff.
Conclusions: The course is an important strategy to improve the maternity services offered to women in remote Australia.