‘It’s really frightening times’: RDH midwifery service changes cause more uncertainty for families
The changes impacting families being supported by the Midwifery Group Practice at Royal Darwin Hospital are due to ‘critical staff shortages’.
On-call support from a midwifery service committed to offering families continuity of care and high risk pregnancies has been temporarily suspended.
A letter to families who are supported by the Midwifery Group Practice at Royal Darwin Hospital were told by NT Health this week to expect changes to support.
These changes include “pausing” the on-call help service for four weeks with labour and birth care outside of business hours being transferred to staff on the sixth floor at Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH).
The news has caused more uncertainty for expectant parents in an already turbulent year after the closing of the maternity ward at Darwin Private Hospital and capacity concerns at Royal Darwin Hospital.
One mum who went through the service in May said it offers continuity of care and is really important in terms of getting more positive outcomes for pregnancy and births.
The mum, who did not wish to be named, said it also helps parents feel more secure and comfortable as staff know their background and any health history.
Speaking about the changes, she said, it was “concerning”.
“It’s already such a period of uncertainty for women in the system,” she said.
“At the moment, everything feels like it’s changing at the drop of the hat, which doesn’t really fill people with confidence.
“It’s really frightening times. People really don’t have very much choice over how their birth goes.”
Cath Hatcher, NT branch secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, said the changes to the Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) are due to understaffing within the service.
“The reason they are doing this is due to staff shortages, annual leave and unexpected personal leave,” she said.
“The MGP that are working there are not happy about it, but it is the best interim measure at the moment.”
What is the Midwifery Group Practice?
At the moment, the service of 15 midwives is experiencing a “critical staff shortage” according to MGP of around 35 per cent.
This is made up of staff on annual and unexpected leave and positions that are currently unfilled.
The Midwifery Group Practice based within RDH provides continuous care for women with high risk pregnancies and from remote Aboriginal communities travelling to Darwin to give birth.
The service made up of five teams of three midwives also support women with normal risk pregnancies planning to have a homebirth in Darwin and Palmerston.
In the letter, families were told the MGP on-call function will be “paused” for four weeks from Tuesday, August 5.
This means any birth or labour care outside of business hours will be transferred to staff in the RDH delivery suite on the sixth floor rather than their known midwife.
During this time, patients will continue to receive care through the service during business hours.
NT Health: ‘This decision has not been made lightly’
Speaking with this masthead, chief nursing and midwifery officer and midwife with MGP, Kellie Wilton, confirmed the changes were due to staff shortages in four of the teams.
The only team unaffected, she said, is the home birth service.
Due to the small size of the teams, she explained any leave taken by staff can easily impact availability within the service and compromise needed back-up.
“When we’re looking at women who already have an increased risk in their pregnancy, safety has to win out over all costs at every time,” she said.
“So unfortunately, due to some staff shortages, we have had to minimise that service and take them off call.”
Addressing concerns regarding active recruitment for more staff and offering more permanent contracts, Ms Wilton said like many health services, recruiting for midwives with the high level of skill and expertise needed in the role has been difficult.
But she said the ongoing scheduled review of the service mentioned in the letter to families should help address some of the barriers including possible restructuring of the service.
In the meantime, she said they are hoping the impact to the 39 families currently in the service will be “minimal”.
“We do understand any change to your birthing journey as you imagine can be really unsettling,” she said.
“We’re really highly conscious of that.
“I can guarantee [concerned families] that the staff at Royal Darwin Hospital are working incredibly hard to restore services back to what they were so that women can have the care they have chosen to have.
“This decision has not been made lightly.”
