Doctors warn fears over size of new WCH are being ignored

Adelaide’s new Women’s and Children’s Hospital will struggle for resources from day one, warn doctors who say it is going to be too small.

Women’s and Children’s Hospital clinicians say the existing hospital has chronic deficiencies and warn the planned new one will be too small.

Evidence given at a closed hearing of a parliamentary committee in February, but released with the clinicians’ approval, also says doctors are now too frightened to speak out publicly in case it affects their career.

They also warn that the existing system is jeopardising the future medical workforce.

Paediatric intensive care doctor Steve Keeley said there is a “cognitive dissonance that we’re suffering under.”

“We’re constantly being advised or told that we want a world-class facility, that we want to be world-class, but we’re not funding for world-class,” he said.

“We’re not even funding for standard Australian care that is available in every other state. Increasingly, that is becoming a frustration.

“There is not a departmental head at the Women’s and Children’s that will not have equipment and resource deficiencies, staffing deficiencies, nurse educator deficiencies, allied health deficiencies.”

The current Women's and Children's Hospital in North Adelaide. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Dr Keeley waned that the new WCH will be too small and “decisions are begin made without any clinician input whatsoever.”

This is despite Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade saying so far there had been some 1000 hours of consultation about the new WCH with close to 700 doctors, medical, nursing/midwifery, allied health and other staff, as well as 35 consumers.

“There is not anyone I have spoken to who does not believe the site is too small — not one doctor,” Dr Keeley said.

“The evidence is clear. I work in the paediatric intensive care unit and we have 13 beds; the plan for the new building is to have 12 paediatric intensive care unit beds. Can you believe that?

“Perth Children’s went from 10 beds to 20 in their new build. They increased the total number of beds in the new children’s hospital in Perth; we are decreasing the number of beds.

“No one believes that in a future hospital like this that has to serve the families and children of South Australia for 20 to 30 years that the bed numbers are sufficient.”

The Perth Children's Hospital. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

He also claimed at least one baby who died in a cluster of four deaths in one month last year may have been saved if the WCH had been able to provide heart surgery services rather than transferring patients interstate.

Paediatrician Dr Brett Ritchie told the committee the WCH has the most dedicated, hardworking, committed people to provide the best care they can in this state.

“Yet we have been pushed to the point where it’s just no longer working,” he said.

“In 2019, over 200 doctors, including specialists at the Women’s and Children’s, alerted the executive; we alerted our board and we alerted the Minister for Health to the serious concerns we had regarding the progressive deterioration in patient care and the clinical services that were being offered at the WCH.

“From that clinical perspective, we feel we are really on the edge here. What more does it take before something will change? Since 2019, effectively nothing has changed and we are still carrying this burden.”

He also claimed doctors are fearful of being critical of the hospital.

“I think the concern is if people speak up it might go against them personally, professionally and perhaps even go against them in a negative way for their unit,” Dr Ritchie said.

“So they shut up, they keep their head down and they don’t rock the boat.”

Consultant paediatric infectious diseases physician Nan Vasilunas warned that medical succession planning is a significant and ongoing concern.

“The lack of advanced training positions, both senior registrars and fellows, at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital compared with other local and interstate hospitals is compromising our ability to achieve a consistently high standard of service delivery,” she said.

“It’s blocking career development and it’s sending high-quality trainees interstate and jeopardising the future medical consultant workforce who are providing care to the women and children of South Australia.”

Originally published as Doctors warn fears over size of new WCH are being ignored