Mackay hospital welcomes obstetricians Dr Leigh Grant and Dr Barton Matshe

After a horror few months of shocking revelations, Mackay Base Hospital could be entering a new dawn with two new doctors to ease the burden and progress on 122 recommendations for future care.

Mackay Base Hospital senior obstetricians Dr Leigh Grant and Dr Barton Matshe. Picture: Contributed

The embattled Mackay Base Hospital is beginning to rise up from months of scandal with two new doctors coming on board to lead the women’s health unit and reports of steady progress on 122 recommendations for future care.

Dr Leigh Grant and Dr Barton Matshe have joined the hospital’s women’s health team, bringing with them years of experience and lifting the number of obstetrics and gynaecology specialists at the hospital to five.

Dr Grant will serve as clinical director of the troubled obstetrics and gynaecology department and Mackay HHS interim chief executive Dr Charles Pain said the number of specialists would soon rise to seven.

“She (Dr Grant) will lead a team of five specialists providing care to the families of the Mackay region and we have two more specialists joining the team, one in July and one in September,” he said

The new blood and experience could help the department move to a new footing following the September 2022 revelations of substandard obstetrics care.

Mackay Base Hospital senior obstetricians Dr Leigh Grant and Dr Barton Matshe. Picture: Contributed

An independent report revealed multiple women had suffered “long lasting physical and psychological harm” because of substandard care at the facility.

It also revealed at least three occasions when inadequate care was a factor in the death of babies.

In November, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath sacked the entire hospital board, saying at the time not enough work had been done to deal with systemic issues at the department.

Registrar training for obstetrics and gynaecology at the hospital was suspended in 2022 and Dr Pain said he was in discussions with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology to restore accreditation.

The hospital is also working through 122 recommendations to improve future obstetrics and gynaecology care.

Dr Pain said about 62 per cent of the recommendations had been completed and he expressed confidence the hospital would meet all recommendations by October.

Before Mackay, Dr Grant worked in obstetrics and gynaecology at Queensland Health, including a stint at Rockhampton Base Hospital.

Dr Matshe arrives in the Sugar City after 23 years working in New Zealand.

“He has a special interest in working with culturally diverse communities and providing these women with safe birthing experiences,” Dr Pain said.

Dr Grant said she would lead a team that was focused on providing the best possible pregnancy and birth experiences.

“My focus has always been on giving patients – women and their families – choices,” she said.