Hospital midwife numbers ‘unsafe’
A midwifery shortage means safe staffing levels at Christchurch Women’s Hospital’s maternity unit cannot be guaranteed.
The revelation follows a complaint by new mum Chloe Youngson, who had a large surgical pack left inside her after a caesarean-section birth in October. She noticed gauze ‘‘trying to exit my body’’ and a large and rotting bandage was removed in hospital five days after the birth of her son.
Safe staffing standards developed by Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Services (Meras) – the union for midwives – determine the number of staff required on the ward.
Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) director of midwifery Norma Campbell said a national shortage of midwives meant ‘‘this is not always achievable’’.
Midwives around the country are voting on further strikes this week and some are preparing for mass resignations if their conditions and pay are not improved.
Youngson said most of the nurses, midwives and doctors were ‘‘fantastic’’ but she felt the problems were ‘‘largely due to understaffing and staff being overworked’’. Her case was one of 82 serious adverse events reported by the CDHB in the past year, and one of 42 perinatal and maternal adverse events reported by DHBS nationally.
An investigation revealed there was ‘‘no established swab count process for procedures outside of the theatre environment’’ and this resulted in a large swab being left in Youngson and sepsis developing.
Campbell said a surgical document used for C-sections had been revised with ‘‘fields added regarding the insertion of Bakri balloons and volumes, vaginal packs, the number of vaginal packs inserted and plan for removal’’. The average staff-topatient ratio in the maternity ward was one midwife to five or six mothers.
In the birthing suite, it was one midwife to one or two patients, dependent on stage of delivery, Campbell said.
Christchurch Women’s Hospital midwife and Meras delegate Kathy Anderson did not want to comment on Youngson’s case but said concerns about low staffing levels were behind the industrial action. ‘‘That’s why we’re trying to insist we get better conditions so we have more staff willing to work ... a large number of midwives are cutting down the number of days they work because it’s too busy and stressful. We want safe staffing for ourselves and obviously for the women and babies we care for,’’ Anderson said.
Meras co-leader Caroline Conway said the staff-to-patient ratio