Heat is on over hospital

No air-con in maternity

NEW mothers have suffered through another scorching day in a ward without airconditioning at the Launceston General Hospital, says Opposition health spokeswoman Michelle O’Byrne.

Ms O’Byrne said with temperatures reaching 35C about noon yesterday, it was “unpleasant, uncomfortable and potentially unsafe in maternity”.

“About a month ago we stood very close to the hospital again and called out one of the significant concerns that staff and young parents are facing in regard to heat in the LGH in Launceston,” she said.

“This issue was raised with us by some of the people that were in the hospital and in ongoing conversations with the nursing and midwifery union. They’ve made it clear that they have been asking for the last five years for the Government to address this issue.”

New mum Vanessa Thirkell-Johnston was in the ward a month ago on one of the hottest days of the season with her newborn daughter, Emilia.

“Temperatures were about the same they are today and it was unbearable,” she said.

“I was very ill because of the heat. I was worried about the baby because they don’t tolerate heat very well. So I can only imagine how bad it would be in there today. It would be really awful.

“The only advice they can really give you is open the window, close the curtains and turn the fan on. I can’t understand why it’s been allowed to continue this long.

“I was chugging water trying to stay cool and not faint before I could get out of hospital.”

Health Minister Sarah Courtney said the Government had spent $1.4 million on cooling in priority areas of the LGH chosen by management and senior staff over the past two years.

“These are the first major upgrades in the decades since the hospital was built, and are providing cooling in areas of the hospital that have never had this before,” she said.

State secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Emily Shepherd said working in hot and humid conditions was also challenging for staff.