Maternity nurses and midwives have expressed concern about the welfare of babies and mothers due to understaffing in maternity wards.
Nurses and midwives spoke on Tuesday night’s A Current Affair, claiming that without change to staffing levels lives will be lost.
It takes courage to do what these two nurses are doing tonight…Risking their jobs to blow the lid on a maternity ward crisis they say could cost mothers and babies their lives. #9ACA | WATCH THE FULL STORY: https://t.co/QHkH03a6dc pic.twitter.com/MLz15fascn
— A Current Affair (@ACurrentAffair9) February 5, 2019
A special care nurse from Western Sydney’s Westmead Private Hospital told the show she fears daily that she will end up in a coroner’s court because a baby has died on her watch.
“I’m terrified,” she said.
“I’d be resuscitating a baby whilst looking after other babies who were unwell and needed care – babies can die, if you aren’t checking them regularly enough.”
Top Comments
Just one more reason to hire a private midwife when you have a baby. Not that there should ever be a need to due to midwife / patient ratios, but it's just adding to the list.
I see your point, but will hospitals allow a private midwife to practice in their facility due to medico-legal concerns?
That's the hope moving forward, and I believe a very small amount of hospitals will allow it.
What having a Private Midwife achieves is having someone there who is knowledgeable about birth, hospitals and women, and who can be your advocate a a time when it's not possible for you to do that for yourself, and advocate for things you may not even know are possible to begin with. It's like taking a lawyer to court. You can do it all yourself, but you're a shit ton more likely to be successful if you have representation. Unfortunately, a hospital's number one aim is to protect themselves, not help women have great births, and those two aims can absolutely be at loggerheads at times.
A private midwife will also labour with you at home, help you with breastfeeding, and check on you after you've been discharged.
Im inclined to believe the nurses. They are the ones at the coal face everyday not the spokespeople. What reason would there be for them to risk their jobs by taking this public?
My hubby is an RN (not a midwife) and a couple of years ago he had 19 patients on his own at once. It's an absolute disgrace and very dangerous. I believe the nurses too.
How awful. And if a patient dies because he was overloaded he would have to live with that. Its absolutely disgraceful