New mums vote Fairfield Hospital worst in NSW for maternity care

FAIRFIELD Hospital has been named worst in NSW for giving birth.

Fairfield Hospital has been voted the worst in NSW for maternity care.

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FAIRFIELD Hospital has been named worst in NSW for giving birth, according to findings from the Bureau of Health Information.

The facility came last out of the NSW’s 61 public hospitals patients surveyed in a report published by the State Government body report last week.

There were 1658 births at the hospital in 2015, and 82 of them responded to the survey which found, overall, women across NSW rated their care highly.

Fairfield Hospital, however, received the most negative feedback when asked about such things as communication, being able to be involved in decisions, receiving conflicting information and trust in the staff during birth. Cleanliness, having enough say about pain relief and waiting times to be seen at antenatal check-ups were also areas with below average levels of positive feedback.

Hospitals across southwest Sydney scored poorly in comparison to the rest of the state.

Bureau of Health Information chief executive Dr Jean-Frederic Levesque Fairfield Hospital’s results were no cause for alarm.

“This is not about mothers in Fairfield complaining about their experiences,” he said.

“Many of the responses were, in fact, positive but just not as positive as the rest of the state.

“However, the results do suggest there is room for improvement at Fairfield. For example 49 per cent of mothers felt they did not receive conflicting information after the birth of their baby.

“This means 51 per cent felt they received conflicting information ... which is a high percentage but something which can be worked on.

“In Fairfield we see a large number of people from a different cultural and linguistic background and low socio-economic status.

“This adds challenges but other areas with similar demographics such as western Sydney have had more positive feedback, so it shows that you can do something about it.”

A mother who recently used the maternity services at Fairfield had nothing but praise for its staff and the facilities.

Casey Bertucci with baby Toby Harrison Stafford, who was born at Fairfield Hospital in late December. Picture: Ian Svegovic

Casey Bertucci, of Cabramatta West, gave birth to son Toby on New Year’s Eve and said she would have her next child at Fairfield as well.

“I heard a lot of horror stories about hospitals in southwest Sydney,” the 25-year-old said. “But I had a very positive experience at Fairfield, and even when I went back check-ups the staff were smiling and the atmosphere was friendly.”

Prospect state Labor MP Hugh McDermott said government mismanagement of the hospital had reached “third world” levels.

“If you ever wanted proof the State Government put western Sydney last, this is it,” he said.

“Fairfield Hospital has been gutted while state revenue is at an all-time high.

“The last health minister was sacked over her failures in the health system. It’s time the whole government was given the sack.

“The State Government has not spent any money on Fairfield Hospital in the last two budgets. This is the result. It’s disgraceful.”

Fairfield state Labor MP Guy Zangari said: “It’s not surprising since the Government gutted funding to Fairfield Hospital.

“The staff in the hospital are overworked and aren’t being supported by the Government.

“The Government is asleep at the wheel and they aren’t listening to the concerns of frontline workers or the community.

“The Government is responsible for providing facilities and resourcing to hospitals around NSW.

“This report reflects that the system is getting worse and the government just isn’t listening.”

Birthrates in decline

The number of babies born at Fairfield Hospital has declined

A total of 1666 babies were born at Fairfield according to the NSW Mothers and Babies 2015 report released on January 1

In 2014 that figure was 1888, down from 2001 in 2012

Across the same period of time, the number of births in southwest Sydney increased from 12,831 in 2011 to 13,214 in 2015