Central Queensland maternity services need urgent help
Chronic workforce shortages in regional Queensland are risking patient safety and leading to staff burnout and resignations, AMA Queensland President Dr Maria Boulton said today.
Three of the four obstetricians at Rockhampton Hospital have resigned, creating uncertainty for expectant families across Central Queensland.
The Gladstone and Biloela maternity units have been on bypass for months, with Gladstone recently reopening for elective caesareans only.
AMA Queensland understands the remaining obstetrics staff at Gladstone Hospital are working temporarily at Rockhampton to fill the gaps over the Christmas-New Year period.
“Pregnancy is full of enough uncertainties already. Queensland Health needs to be open and transparent with patients and staff about what is going on,” Dr Boulton said.
“Patients, doctors and other healthcare workers deserve adequately resourced maternity units. Our regional hospitals are facing intense workforce pressure. Staff have stepped up and are doing the best they can, with some doing the work of three people. This is not sustainable. This is not safe.
“We can’t keep shuffling staff around to plug gaps, leaving other hospitals short-staffed. We need real, long-term solutions to attract and retain doctors, nurses and midwives in regional Queensland.
“Recruiting doctors from overseas will help, but it will be months before the new recruits arrive and they still need a year of supervised training.
“Doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers are human. They need to have breaks. They get tired. They get sick. Queensland Health must ensure healthcare workers can take leave. They cannot continue to work in a sick system.
“I went to Gladstone and Rockhampton in October to talk to doctors and patients about the maternity unit bypass, and it was confronting and distressing.
“Parents were left in the dark when the maternity unit went on bypass. No-one could tell them what it meant for their impending birth or healthcare. Staff were fatigued and burnt out. Some were considering leaving. We provided feedback to Queensland Health at the time.”
One immediate solution would be to lift Queensland Health’s ban on its employees working as locums in other public hospitals on their days off.
“We know of doctors who would like to work as locums in Queensland regional hospitals but can’t, so they are working in New South Wales instead. This is nonsensical,” Dr Boulton said.
“It’s time to end this short-sighted rule that sends doctors interstate instead of where they are needed most in Queensland.”
