A new grandmother says her teenage daughter has been left traumatised by wait times at a major Brisbane public hospital.<\/p>\n
Bronwyn Mackay told NewsWire multiple women in labour, including her daughter, were left in and around the triage area of Mater Mothers\u2019 Hospital on Monday.<\/p>\n
The Brisbane woman claims her 17-year-old daughter, whose waters broke naturally, was forced to wait more than two hours on a couch at the hospital\u2019s pregnancy assessment centre as contractions came every three minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was mentally and emotionally tarnished at this point, embarrassed to cry and kept going back into the edge of the chair through every contraction,\u201d Ms Mackay told NewsWire.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said \u2018Mum, I can\u2019t do this anymore, if you don\u2019t take me somewhere else I\u2019m walking out of here\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made a risky decision to leave and bring her to Springfield Mater Private where she was assessed promptly and put straight into a bed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nurses from South Brisbane rang the 17-year-old when the family were on their way to the private hospital 30km away, where the mother and her new baby are now doing well in the neonatal intensive care unit.<\/p>\n
A Mater spokesperson said the wellbeing of every mother and baby was a priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand how distressing it is for any family to experience a wait,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll women who present to Mater Mothers are clinically assessed on arrival and prioritised according to their needs, with those requiring urgent care seen first. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt times of high demand, some women who are clinically safe to do so, may experience a wait before being moved to a birthing suite. Patient safety is never compromised by this process.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of respect for the patient\u2019s privacy, it is inappropriate to provide any further details, and our priority remains the health and wellbeing of the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Presentations at Mater\u2019s Pregnancy Assessment Centre are not all labouring women.<\/p>\n
For example, those within the waiting room may be presenting for a scheduled appointment.<\/p>\n
The health department backed Mater\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n
Ms Mackay said the sight of her daughter and other pregnant women in pain strewn throughout public areas of a hospital should not be the reality of public healthcare.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of being cared for in a birthing suite, she\u2019s sitting in pain in a hallway waiting room alongside other women who are also in labour, because there is simply nowhere else for them to go,\u201d she said in a post.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery staff member I\u2019ve seen looks exhausted, stretched beyond their limits, and forced to apologise for a system they didn\u2019t create. They are doing everything they can with the resources they have.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about a healthcare system that has become so overwhelmed that women in one of the most important moments of their lives are left labouring in hallways.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some 20 per cent of Queensland babies are born at Mater\u2019s Queensland hospitals each year. <\/p>\n
The centres at Springfield, Brisbane and South Brisbane all receive public funding and also offer private services. <\/p>\n
Government data shows the number of \u2018beds and bed alternatives\u2019 at Mater Mother\u2019s Hospital in South Brisbane has fallen one per cent to 199 over the past year, with patient admissions down 20.7 per cent to 4718 from January to March this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind every statistic about hospital overcrowding is a real person. A frightened young first-time mum. A partner feeling helpless. A grandmother watching her daughter suffer,\u201d Ms Mackay said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA baby whose first moments begin amidst chaos instead of calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. No woman should be wondering whether she\u2019ll have a bed before she gives birth.\u201d<\/p>\n