Paul Sorensen, pregnant wife forced to rush to Rockhampton after being turned away at Gladstone

A Queensland dad has recounted the harrowing night he was forced to rush his labouring wife 100km up the highway ahead of his close-by hospital’s crisis talks on Monday.

Told their baby could not be delivered at Gladstone Hospital, Paul Sorensen and his labouring wife had no choice but to make a “nightmarish” mercy dash to Rockhampton where she would undergo an emergency caesarean.

The Mount Larcom man has joined a chorus of parents and midwives calling for urgent intervention from the State Government as maternity services at Gladstone Hospital remain unavailable two months after they were suspended amid staff shortages.

He told the Gladstone Observer he could never have imagined the gruelling hours ahead when his wife, who did not wish to be named, announced her water had broken at 2am and their second child was on the way in August.

He can’t believe a hospital in a region as large and significant to the state’s economy as Gladstone, is being told it cannot deliver babies.

Mount Larcom father, Paul Sorensen and his wife recently endured an overnight drive from Gladstone to Rockhampton to give birth to their daughter after they were turned away amid Gladstone's maternity unit bypass. Picture: Nilsson Jones

After arriving at the Gladstone Hospital in the early hours, the couple was told the on-call locum obstetrician was not available and they would be required to either drive to Rockhampton or await ambulance transportation.

With no word on when an ambulance would show and an agonising hour already passed, they decided to risk the drive with their Gladstone-based midwife trailing them as they ventured north along the Bruce Highway.

During the journey, his wife’s labour intensified, as did her anxiety at the prospect of a roadside birth.

Mr Sorensen said the frantic 110km trip north was already unbearable before a motorcycle accident just a few vehicles in front of them added to the trauma.

After presenting at Gladstone, Mr Sorensen was told the on-call locum obstetrician was not available and the couple would be required to either drive to Rockhampton or await ambulance transportation. Picture: Nilsson Jones

After arriving at Rockhampton, and finding a car park, his wife was admitted to a birthing suite before complications — which the couple believe were stress-induced — meant she required an emergency caesarean (C-section).

Mr Sorensen said his family’s experience was just one of many and believed urgent action was required to reinstate Gladstone’s birthing services at full capacity before the “unthinkable” happens.

“It was nightmarish and simply unacceptable, thankfully everything is okay now but it was touch and go for a while amid the uncertainty at that vulnerable time,” Mr Sorensen said.

The couple arrived at the Rockhampton Base Hospital but not before witnessing a motorcycle crash and finding a car park. Picture: News Corp

“A resource town like Gladstone is supposed to be supporting and attracting young families to help grow the industry here, so I cannot believe its hospital is now being told to turn away women about to give birth.”

While he had nothing but praise for the midwife who supported the couple through the pregnancy and birth, he believed she should have been allowed to help deliver their newborn at Gladstone where the couple had previously welcomed their first child.

Mr Sorensen will be attending a forum hosted by the Maternity Consumer Network next week calling on the State Government to immediately lift the bypass and reinstate birthing capacity at Gladstone.

A petition calling on the state government to provide adequate funding and qualified professionals for the Gladstone Hospital has attracted more than 2,500 signatures.

Gladstone MP Glenn Butcher said he was “highly aware” of the challenges Gladstone Hospital was facing and wanted to thank the community for their ongoing advocacy to get birthing services back to full capacity.

Gladstone MP Glenn Butcher and Gladstone Hospital's Joanne Glover, at the announcement of new funding for Gladstone Base Hospital's maternity ward in 2018.

“Rest assured, I am in constant communication with the CQHHS board and all levels of Queensland Health … on top of that, I am strongly advocating to the Health Department, about this situation,” Mr Butcher said.

“While there are impacts to specialist obstetric services across the country at the moment, I understand this is a concerning time for many locals.

“I want to thank the hardworking Gladstone staff, from the bottom of my heart, for the critical job they’re doing for the Gladstone community every day.”

The Gladstone Maternity Forum will be on Monday afternoon at Auckland House.

Originally published as Paul Sorensen, pregnant wife forced to rush to Rockhampton after being turned away at Gladstone