Pregnant nurse Teagan Beeby felt “pure fear” when she was told about midwifery roster cuts at her workplace.
She is 36 weeks pregnant and works at Port Macquarie Base Hospital, where she also intends to give birth to her first child.
“As a nurse, knowing the impact that [nurse to patient] ratio has on the care that you can give … [and] becoming a patient myself, it’s quite a scary experience,” Ms Beeby said.
“You want to go to your local hospital knowing you can be looked after and you’re going to have somebody there to take care of you and your baby when you’re in a very vulnerable state.”
Teagan Bebe was among the nurses who rallied outside Port Macquarie Base Hospital this week.. (ABC Mid North Coast: Nakita Jager)
Nurses and Midwives Association (NMA) Port Macquarie branch president Mark Brennan said roster changes would lead to two rather than three midwives rostered per day shift at the hospital from mid-January.
But a Mid North Coast Local Health District spokesperson denied that claim and said the rosters were being updated to improve continuity of care in the maternity unit.
“There will be no reduction in midwifery staff as a result of the roster changes,” a spokesperson said.
However, the ABC has been told by the union and midwives from Port Macquarie Base Hospital that the changes to midwife day shift rostering from three to two were communicated at a recent staff meeting.
A group of nurses and midwives protested outside of Port Macquarie Base Hospital on Thursday. (ABC Mid North Coast: Nakita Jager)
Christmas transfers
NMA Port Macquarie said the changes to the roster at the hospital were coming ahead of a move that would see all high-risk maternity patients transferred to Port Macquarie from Kempsey District Hospital for 10 days from December 20.
The association said in January high-risk maternity patients would be transferred to Port Macquarie between 5pm on Thursdays and 7am on Mondays.
The health declined to confirm whether these arrangements were in place, but said a shortage of specialists had necessitated the transfers in January.
Kempsey mother Sarah Lipscombe met with hospital management about the distress caused by the weekend bypasses during her recent pregnancy.
“Every Friday, Saturday, Sunday as you approach the birth, not knowing where you will be or if you will be transferred with lights and sirens is a fear that I cannot put into words,” she said.
Maternity service workers fear their patients will receive a lower quality of care. (Supplied: Noughts and Crosses)
‘Breaking point’
Concerns have been raised on the NSW Central Coast that the critical shortage of maternity staff could see expectant mothers sent to Sydney or Newcastle.
In an extraordinary meeting this week Gosford Hospital’s executive told the Staff Medical Council that its obstetrics and gynaecology services were at risk of going on bypass.
Women will be notified if they cannot be supported at Gosford Hospital.
NSW Health data shows Gosford Hospital is the second-busiest maternity hospital outside Sydney.
Zoe Zoaretz is expecting her second child early next year. (ABC Central Coast: Shauna Foley)
Central Coast mother Zoe Zoaretz, whose second child is due in February, is concerned how local women will be impacted.
“The last thing a person in labour needs to deal with is to be transported far from where they are supposed to be giving birth, and it is a scary prospect,” she said.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said in a statement that everything possible was being done to avoid having to transfer expectant mothers away from Gosford Hospital in the event of an emergency.
Kathryn Austin says NSW maternity services are in crisis. (Supplied: Australian Medical Association)
Australian Medical Association President and obstetrician Kathryn Austin said maternity services across the state had “hit breaking point”.
“The challenges across midwifery and obstetric workforces have been escalating for a number of months and there are now many sites across NSW facing significant challenges to provide safe staffing,” she said.
“The work environments and the awards under which [obstetricians] work haven’t been updated over many, many years and haven’t kept pace with current economies.”
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