Gladstone’s Coco-Cherie Boyd says she and baby nearly died amid maternity bypass
A Gladstone mother believes she and her baby would not be alive today had it not been for the intervention of midwives who demanded she not be sent up the Bruce Highway to Rockhampton.
Gladstone
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gladstone. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Gladstone mum Coco-Cherie Boyd will be forever grateful to the compassionate midwives she believes risked their jobs in breaking protocol to ensure she received emergency care at her local hospital.
Ms Boyd feared she was going to die or lose her baby while lying in a hospital bed as she overheard midwives debating whether to break the rules and contact a local off-duty obstetrician for urgent help, rather than send their patient 100km to Rockhampton.
Some pregnant women are being directed to Rockhampton 100km away since Gladstone hospital maternity went on bypass in July.
Ms Boyd, who is a healthcare worker herself, described the “most horrendous night” of her life when her waters broke nine weeks prematurely on December 16 and she was rushed to Gladstone Hospital for assessment.
Within an hour, she would be placed under general anaesthetic following a ruptured placenta and severe haemorrhaging which risked the life of both mother and daughter, but not before 16 failed attempts to insert a cannula and lasting bruises across her body as midwives rushed to provide critical assistance.
Ms Boyd recalls saying her final goodbyes to partner, Shannon and told him to remind their two sons how much she loved them before her clothing and jewellery was ripped away and she lay naked on an operating table, less an oxygen mask.
She would later wake dazed and confused without a baby in her stomach or arms and barely recognising family members before learning her newborn, Willow, was upstairs in a crib covered with CPAP, but doing well.
It would be three hours after giving birth that she would finally see Willow and almost 12 hours before she was briefly held, until she was told Willow would be flown with Shannon to the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital to be assessed at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Three days later, Ms Boyd was discharged and travelled commercially to be in Brisbane with her daughter, where the couple and their newborn remain almost three weeks on.
She later learned how close she came to tragedy when the off-duty obstetrician who assisted her was deployed the following week to Bundaberg and then Rockhampton, which she believes would have left staff no choice but to send her to Rockhampton.
“This was the most horrendous night of my life which I’m still coming to terms with,” Ms Boyd said.
“I am thankful to the midwives who supported and comforted me and to the specialist who intervened but I just know someone’s not going to be so lucky very soon,” she said.
“If they sent me to Rockhampton I would have bled out in that ambulance and we would have lost Willow.”
Save Gladstone Maternity Ward advocate, Jemma Manwaring said despite messaging from the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service (CQHHS) that the bypass was implemented because of protracted recruitment issues, the circumstances in Gladstone are a result of policy decisions.
“CQHHS has said this is a recruitment issue but advertisements for the jobs cannot be found anywhere … they also say it is because of extended sick leave, one doctor is on extended leave, the others are not,” Mrs Manwaring said.
“I highlighted with local MP, Glenn Butcher the continued expectations for midwives to phone Rockhampton before phoning the on-call doctor here …. verbally, midwives have been told they don’t need to continue doing this but no new directive has been given in writing.”
Mrs Manwaring says she has been informed a roster was organised at the end of last year which shows the ward was able to operate 24/7 for six months with desired staff levels but it was rejected.
Sources inside the Gladstone Hospital say staff are increasingly burnt out and “watching their backs” as they balance between the fear of losing their job by breaking protocols and the potentially devastating consequences for patients if they do not seek specialist intervention.
The Courier-Mail can reveal that midwives were asked to volunteer being redeployed to Rockhampton for at least one shift per week to cover shortfalls at the northern maternity ward during a staff meeting this week.
Monica Seth, Executive Director of Gladstone Hospital, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service said the hospital had “well-established and effective processes in place for staff to escalate concerns to management, including in instances when medical assistance is required.
“This ensures matters are considered and acted upon appropriately to prioritise the safety of our patients and staff,” Ms Seth said
“The reason for the bypass is because, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to recruit suitably qualified doctors to provide a safe and sustainable service.
“Specialist obstetric services are in demand across the country, and it is a widespread challenge to recruit and retain these highly trained and valued doctors, especially in regional areas.
Ms Seth said the service remained “absolutely committed” to resorting birthing services at Gladstone “as soon as it is safe to do so”.
“We are continuing to pursue every avenue we can to try to secure the services of specialist obstetric and gynaecology doctors,” she said
“While we work on recruiting the specialists that we need to provide a safe service, there are interim processes in place to support our staff on the ground while they care for their patients.
“This includes the opportunity for early transfer to Rockhampton if clinically required and it is safe to do so.”
Gladstone sale and auction results, week ending February 8
See the latest auction and sales results in Gladstone for last week.
‘Resilience, 5am starts’: Mining town’s top ‘young citizen’ no ordinary teen
From school dux to Young Citizen of the Year, Corbin Wood has not only excelled in academics but also offers a refreshing outlook on the value of small towns, hard work and understanding war history.