Editorial: Bush Baby Crisis taskforce must not let down the mums of rural Queensland

It is deeply concerning that questions are being raised about whether the Bush Baby Crisis taskforce investigation has a predetermined outcome. It is essential this doesn’t happen, writes THE EDITOR.

The reality as seen by mothers in remote rural communities who face giving birth by the side of the road in a failed race against time to get to a hospital hundreds of kilometres away.

QUEENSLAND is a prosperous modern state with top class medical facilities – unless you happen to be among the tens of thousands of people who live in one of its many rural communities.

There, out of sight – and too frequently out of the mind of the politicians and bureaucrats in the gleaming Tower of Power on the banks of the Brisbane River – families are subjected to second-rate services.

Gyselle Anderson with her daughter Harliea Anderson-Bassett who born at the roadside.

The latest example would be comical were it not literally a matter of life and death.

The Sunday Mail today reveals that pregnant women are quietly being issued with DIY birthing kits.

The kits, containing gloves, umbilical cord clips and alcohol wipes, are intended to be a back-up if women can’t get to their nearest hospital – often hundreds of kilometres away – in time, and have to deliver their babies ­themselves.

While no doubt well-­intentioned by the doctors and midwives involved, this bizarre Bunnings or Ikea style of maternity service falls far, far short of what Queensland mums, dads and their families deserve.

It’s seven months since The Sunday Mail first exposed the Bush Baby Crisis.

Quietly, over the course of two decades, 40 obstetrics units around country Queensland have been closed.

Denied access to maternity services in their own communities, women have been left with unpalatable choices – move to a larger centre for weeks before their due date; gamble on freebirthing at home with the associated risk of deadly complications; or face giving birth by the side of the road in a failed race against time to get to a hospital hundreds of kilometres away.

Health Minister Steven Miles must ensure that the Bush Baby Crisis Taskforce does its job properly. Picture: AAP/Darren England

Research by the Rural Doctors Association found the neonatal death rate in towns without obstetric services was almost triple that of rural towns which have maternity units.

We’ve previously commended Health Minister Steven Miles for his swift response to our special investigation, when he set up a Rural Maternity Taskforce to look into the issue.

That group will next week begin visiting locations such as Theodore, Roma, Mount Isa and Ingham to hear about the problems and begin looking at possible solutions.

It is deeply concerning that, not for the first time in this process, questions are being raised about whether the taskforce investigation has a predetermined outcome in mind.

It is essential that Mr Miles stay focused and ensure that this is not the case.

WELCOME RESPONSE TO HEART CHECK CAMPAIGN

A MEDICAL emergency demands an urgent response.

There is no greater health crisis in Australia than the toll exacted by heart disease and so the prompt promises by both sides of federal politics to support Medicare-funded heart health checks is extremely welcome.

The Sunday Mail last week launched the #ShowSomeTicker campaign in conjunction with the Heart Foundation, to address the disease which we dubbed “Australia’s worst serial killer” as it is responsible for the death of 51 people a day.

The timely commitment from both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten means that from April 1 – just six weeks after the launch – $170 million will be made available to fund a Medicare rebate on the 30-minute check to establish the risk of a heart attack.

This bipartisan political support is a vital first step.

It is now crucial that GPs use this new tool which has been put at their disposal to protect their patients.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Kelvin Healey, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details are available at couriermail.com.au