State government announces independent review into Royal Hobart Hospital maternity services

A “rapid” independent investigation into the state of maternity services at the Royal Hobart Hospital has been announced after serious concerns were raised by nurses and midwives.

An independent review into maternity services at the Royal Hobart Hospital will be undertaken after concerns were raised by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation.

An independent review into maternity services at the Royal Hobart Hospital will be launched after nurses and midwives made shocking claims about the impacts of understaffing on mothers and babies in their care.

Health Minister Guy Barnett announced on Friday that a “rapid investigation” would be conducted to “closely examine the issues raised”, including rostering processes and the safety of patients.

The Tasmanian branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) this week said that a consistent lack of staff in the maternity unit at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) was leading to adverse outcomes for families.

Health Minister Guy Barnett. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

The union has cited examples of women giving birth outside of the RHH birth suite due to missed signs of labour and babies losing more than 10 per cent of their body weight within the first three days of life because of infrequent checks and a lack of breastfeeding support.

The Health Department said on Wednesday that it had investigated the claims made by the ANMF regarding recent incidents in the unit and could not corroborate them. It has denied that there is an understaffing problem.

Mr Barnett said the issues raised by the ANMF were “of extreme concern to me”.

The department has made it very clear that the concerns are serious, but they’ve looked into that and they are continuing to look into that,” he said.

“But I want a level of assurance from an independent person to provide that because what is paramount is the health and welfare of mothers and babies, particularly at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

“And Tasmanians need to ensure that they get the health care that they deserve. And as Health Minister, I’m absolutely determined to secure that so that we can have that high level of confidence, which is important.”

The minister said he would consult with the union regarding the appointment of a qualified person to lead the investigation and its terms of reference.

ANMF Tasmanian branch secretary Emily Shepherd. Picture: Chris Kidd

Nurses and midwives are currently taking industrial action and ANMF Tasmanian branch secretary Emily Shepherd has warned that the union could escalate this if its concerns relating to the maternity unit were not addressed.

She welcomed the announcement of a review, saying the ANMF had requested that an independent investigation be carried out.

“Many women have come forward to corroborate these issues from their own experiences – including delays in inductions – and further advocacy has occurred on behalf of members,” Ms Shepherd said.

“The ANMF has had ongoing discussions with the minister with respect to the disconnect between our members’ experience and the response from [Health] Department deputy secretary [hospitals and primary care] Brendan Docherty.”

Claim baby died at RHH due to understaffing ‘not corroborated’

Tasmania’s Health Department says it has been unable to corroborate a claim that a baby died in the Royal Hobart Hospital’s maternity unit due to understaffing, noting the investigation was still in its “early days”.

Deputy Secretary hospitals and primary care Brendan Docherty moved to reassure the community on Wednesday that they would continue to receive “world-class, top quality” care in the state’s health service, including the maternity unit at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH).

He was responding to claims from the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation’s Tasmanian branch – which is currently undertaking industrial action – that understaffing was leading to adverse outcomes for families accessing maternity services.

The Tasmanian Health Department says it has been unable to corroborate a claim that a baby died on the Royal Hobart Hospital maternity ward due to understaffing.

The union cited examples of women giving birth outside of the RHH birth suite due to missed signs of labour and babies losing more than 10 per cent of their body weight within the first three days of life because of infrequent checks and a lack of breastfeeding support.

In correspondence sent to the department on Tuesday, the ANMF claimed a baby had died as a result of understaffing.

Mr Docherty said while it was “the early days of our investigation”, the department had not found any evidence of this having occurred, nor could it corroborate instances of women giving birth outside the birth suite.

“We have escalations in place. We have safety systems in place and we can find no record of any untoward clinical events,” he said.

“If something has happened and it’s not been reported, I encourage any of our staff members to actually use the normal mechanisms for doing so. So chat to your line manager, put it through our safety reporting system so we can investigate and look into the circumstances around that event.”

Mr Docherty also denied that the staffing situation was as dire as the union claimed, saying “generally rosters are covered to the best of our knowledge and ability”.

Health Department Deputy Secretary Hospital and Primary Care Brendan Docherty, pictured here in July. Picture: Chris Kidd

ANMF Tasmanian branch secretary Emily Shepherd said the union’s members had tried to internally raise issues regarding maternity services to no avail, which was why they were now speaking about them publicly.

“These appalling conditions should never have been allowed to eventuate in a maternity unit where the lives of women and their babies depend on sufficient midwifery staffing levels along with their health care colleagues,” she said.

Ms Shepherd said pregnant women should still seek medical care in Tasmania’s hospitals because midwives would do everything they could to ensure that safe and quality care was provided.

She said if the department did not commit to a range of solutions proposed by the ANMF within a week, the union “reserves the right” to escalate industrial action and lodge a dispute for arbitration with the Tasmanian Industrial Commission.