Nurses have spoken out about conditions at Werribee Mercy Hospital in Melbourne’s western suburbs, alleging that overcrowding, equipment shortfalls and under-staffing are leaving mothers at risk.
In a resolution passed by the midwives earlier this month about their concerns, it was revealed that a number of babies had been delivered outside of designated birthing suites throughout February and March and mothers weren’t being properly medically monitored.
As The Age reports, in one particularly unsettling incident, staff were allegedly forced to resuscitate a newborn in a public corridor after the mother gave birth in the department’s consultation room. It is also believed that a mother gave birth in an ambulance in the hospital car park.
Chief executive of health services at Mercy Health, Dr Linda Mellors, has disputed the allegations, saying any such decisions were clinical ones and not due to a lack of space.
“Our staff do a fabulous job coping with the peaks and troughs of the labour ward service. Plans are currently underway to create a ninth birthing suite at the hospital,” she said.
But the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Foundation has slammed Mercy Health for not rostering sufficient staff to cope with increased demand, calling the move “dangerous”.
According to The Age, the midwives also claimed to be lacking vital equipment, including blood pressure monitoring cuffs and accessories for CTG machines used to monitor contractions, oxygen levels and even the baby’s heartbeat.
It is believed that the hospital has launched an internal investigation into the accusations.
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