Young Freeling mother forced to switch hospitals while in labour
Regional staff shortages are under the spotlight, the Liberal Party saying news of a young woman forced to find another hospital after her waters broke was “causing distress”.
Freeling resident Lauren Barker was turned away from Gawler Health Service due to staffing shortages when her waters broke on July 2 last year.
She had planned to give birth at Gawler Health Service after regularly attending appointments at the hospital.
“When I called my midwife to let her know I was in labour, she told me the Gawler Health Service was ‘on divert’ and they’d need to find me somewhere else to go,” Barker said.
“I was immediately told the Lyell McEwin Hospital was at capacity, so the midwife said she’d need to call back with other options. This was terrifying because I had meconium in my waters, which can be a sign of foetal stress.
“Around 20 minutes later, I was told to go to the Kapunda Hospital, which I didn’t even know provided birthing services and is a half-hour drive away. There was only one midwife at Kapunda, but she was amazing and extended her shift to (help) make sure my baby was delivered safely via an emergency caesarean.”
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Barker said baby Laikyn now suffered from “a range of serious health problems” that she believed were linked to “delays and stress caused by the last-minute change of plans”.
SA Liberal Leader Ashton Hurn said staff shortages in regional hospitals were continually forcing patients to change urgent medical care plans.
“Until we can start enticing doctors to these areas, we will continue to hear more stories like the one Lauren has shared today,” Hurn said.
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“The staff we have in our smaller hospitals are brilliant but there simply isn’t enough of them – and one way to get on top of it is by implementing better incentives for doctors to work in regional areas.
“We’ve put forward a series of commonsense actions to boost our healthcare workforce, including incentives to attract more GPs to South Australia and scholarships to train the next generation of nurses and midwives.”
Liberal Shadow Health Minister Jack Batty said regional facilities were still facing the same issue 10 months after Barker’s incident.
“Right now, we have the same situation, but in reverse – the Kapunda Hospital is diverting pregnant mothers to the Gawler Health Service because it doesn’t have enough staff,” Batty said.
“This has already forced at least six women to have their babies elsewhere and the closure is going to continue until May 25.
“These disruptions are causing real distress for families at what should be one of the special moments of their lives and the Labor State Government is sitting on its hands.”
Health Minister Blair Boyer was contacted for comment and a spokesperson said he would hold a press conference at 1pm.
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