REMEMBER WHEN

CONTROVERSY continued to swirl around the Southport Hospital, where there were reports of babies being hurt.

The Gold Coast mothers of two babies with broken arms told The Bulletin: “It’s bad enough seeing them like this but there’s a wall of silence at Southport Hospital. They won’t tell us anything.”

Margaret Mills said: “We were in the same maternity ward together at the hospital, so we knew about each other’s babies. And when the police questioned us that made it obvious something was wrong.”

Gail Larkins said: “But your paper knew more than we did. We were staggered when we read this morning that four other babies born at the hospital had been found to have injuries.”

The two women nursed their babies on their laps as they spoke to the Bulletin’s Frank Hampson at the Mills’ Labrador house.

The Larkins also lived in Labrador, a few kilometres away from the Mills family.

As they spoke, Juliette Margaret Mills opened her nine-day-old blue eyes and waved one arm.

She could not move her left arm – it was bound firmly to her body with elastic bandages.

“Juliette’s upper left arm is broken,” Mrs Mills said. “And Kellie has a broken right forearm.

“Kellie’s injury has almost healed now but Juliette still can’t move her arm when the bandage is off – it just hangs limp.”

The hospital later suspended an unnamed nurse from duty over the incidents. The nurse denied any wrongdoing.