Fears of RBWH return to grieving mums being located with newborns

Health Minister Tim Nicholls has axed a plan to co-locate grieving mothers with other newborns after being informed of the move by The Courier-Mail.

Health Minister Tim Nicholls on Tuesday. Picture: Lachie Millard

A plan by the state’s biggest hospital to put mothers who have just lost their babies in wards alongside newborns has been sensationally axed by Health Minister Tim Nicholls.

The move came just hours after he learned of the controversial plan via questions from The Courier-Mail.

Doctors and midwives working in the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital sounded the alarm about the government’s plans to overhaul the Women’s and Newborn Services, saying they held serious safety concerns about their patients.

But a spokesman for Mr Nicholls said that the proposal to merge the maternity and gynaecology wards was authorised on the eve of the caretaker period by Labor’s previous health minister Shannon Fentiman.

“This proposal was not previously raised with the Office of the Minister for Health and Ambulance Services and is not supported nor authorised by Minister Nicholls,” the spokesman said.

“Minister Nicholls has today directed that the proposal not proceed.

“The care and wellbeing of all of our maternity patients must be the primary consideration.”

The proposal, seen by The Courier-Mail, revealed hospital bosses wanted to establish a High Risk Antenatal and Gynaecology Unit at the RBWH by putting the two wards together.

Concerns have been raised about the practice at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

The move was a return to 2022 when then health minister Yvette D’Ath was forced to axe the co-location of gynaecology and maternity, admitting it was a mistake following reports of distressed, grieving mothers discharging themselves early.

More than 100 members of WNS staff gave feedback on the proposal, with over 90 per cent against Metro North Health’s “Business Case for Significant Change”.

The business plan was released to staff last October, and prompted the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Unit to raise concerns with management around fears the plan will see women who have just miscarried or lost their babies staying close to newborns.

The security of women and babies sleeping in an unlocked unit was also flagged as an issue due to their proximity to wandering patients with mental health conditions, dementia or infectious diseases, leaving vulnerable new mothers and babies open to risk.

The plan to get rid of bereavement rooms that allow a private and safe space for grieving mothers was also slammed by staff in the survey as compromising care.

“Families with multiple births will also lose access to appropriately designed rooms,” the survey states.

Staff also highlighted concerns about dealing with obstetric emergencies due to limited number of midwives and the proposal to have maternity patients in two separate potentially delaying neonatal emergency responses due to confusion around where the patients are located.

Labor’s former health minister Shannon Fentiman

Each year close to 4000 babies are born at the Royal Hospital for Women, and the hospital cares for more than 1000 premature babies or those in need of specialised treatment.

Metro North Health says “declining birth numbers, coupled with a change to the mix of maternity women in recent years, including increased demand for terminations of pregnancy has made it necessary to re-evaluate the overall structure of maternity and gynaecology inpatient wards”.

Maternity advocates slammed the lack of proper consultation around the proposal.

“We want to see the best healthcare experience possible for all women- whether termination, birth or loss and it needs to be done in consultation with consumers,” Alecia Staines from the Maternity Consumer Network said.

“There have been issues with co-location in the past at RBWH when Yvette D’Ath was health minister and there was no consideration for women who’d experienced stillbirth being put on post-natal wards with crying babies. These things need to now be considered in the planning,” she said.

Ms Staines fears women will possibly end up discharged early when there are peak birthing times, there will be inadequate staff to manage emergencies and no resuscitation equipment will be available.

The business plan outlines the intention to put “like” patients together to avoid distress but the staff feedback highlights the fears of workers on the ground.

Originally published as Fears of RBWH return to grieving mums being located with newborns