Reeling from ‘one crisis to another’: Emails expose depths of Qld maternity chaos

Internal emails have exposed the extraordinary depths of Queensland’s maternity crisis and shone a light on how bureaucrats scrambled as the health department went from crisis to crisis.

Maternity services in multiple Queensland towns have been at risk of being put on bypass, with new government documents laying bare the depths of the state’s doctor shortage.

The Gladstone Hospital maternity unit has been at the centre of the crisis forcing regional Queensland mums to travel hundreds of kilometres to give birth and new documents have revealed the scramble at the start of the crisis - more than 270 days ago - to find staff to fill spots.

A frantic hunt for fly-in temporary doctors for Gladstone came to naught at the time because the few available staff had already been dispatched to other regional hospitals including Mackay and Gympie to prevent critical staff shortages amid the impacts of Covid-19.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath and Gladstone Hospital.

The internal emails between the offices of the Health Minister Yvette D’Ath, Water Minister Glenn Butcher, and his Gladstone electorate office were obtained by the Opposition via right to information.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said the emails were proof the maternity crisis ran “far deeper” than the state government “were prepared to admit” and that authorities had chosen “media management” over patient protection.

Separately to the emails, Central Queensland HHS late on Tuesday revealed Gladstone Hospital had moved another step toward rectifying the issue, with no-risk births able to resume from Wednesday in a move expected to halve the number of transfers to Rockhampton.

The emails on July 8, 2022 revealed a push to find staff for Gladstone’s maternity unit included reaching out to all locum agencies, the Mater and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital but no one was available.

And the Mackay maternity unit was already getting help from the Mater and Metro North due to sudden staff leave needs, with Townsville and flying obstetrics and gynaecology services for rural and remote areas also contacted to prevent a bypass from occurring.

Staff from the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service were also contacted but the Gympie maternity unit nearby was itself on the verge of being put on bypass.

The emails, covering the period between July and October 2022, also reveal a concerted effort by Mr Butcher and his electorate office to get to the bottom of the issue and figure out what could be done to assist anxious mothers.

Ms D’Ath’s chief of staff, in an email exchange with his counterpart in Mr Butcher’s office, noted in one instance of a “change from the calm pace” of the old portfolios.

“Not too bad (of a week so far). Just going from one crisis to another,” he said on August 31.

Meanwhile, CQ Health chief executive Dr Emma McCahon confirmed an “additional step” toward resuming the full suite of low risk birthing services at Gladstone would be taken.

“From this Wednesday, 12 April, where no risks are identified by the maternity team, birthing will be available at Gladstone Hospital,” Dr McCahon said.

“Our team has been working tirelessly to recruit a safe and sustainable roster of suitably qualified staff, in a challenging environment of a nationwide shortage of specialist obstetricians.”