Whyalla residents celebrate as birthing services return to local hospital after year-long suspension

ABC NEWS (Australia)

It has been a long year wait, but birthing services will be returning to the Whyalla Hospital. From next week, the hospital birthing unit will be available to women with low-risk pregnancies.

Transcript

00:00For Natasha Watson, the return of birthing services to Wyala has come just a little too

00:07late.

00:08She endured the strain of not having a local hospital for her pregnancy.

00:12Leading up to it was quite exhausting and I was very anxious with just not knowing what

00:20was happening.

00:21Miss Watson suffered from an irritable uterus and had to make the 75km trek to Port Augusta

00:26weekly for check-ups.

00:27Quite often it would restart a few of the contractions so I'd have to stay in overnight

00:32in Port Augusta before I was released to be able to come back home.

00:35The return of birthing services has come in time for Nurse Taylor Breen, who's looking

00:39forward to giving birth in her hometown.

00:41It was a really big relief finding out that we could have it here rather than having to

00:44organise travel, possibly having to organise accommodation if it was a longer hospital

00:50stay.

00:51The Wyala birthing unit was shut down in June last year because of a critical shortage of

00:55Following an independent review and a newly built ward, patients will be welcomed back

01:00next week.

01:01We've brought in new leadership, they've established a new culture, they're in a new location in

01:05the new part of the hospital.

01:07We're confident in terms of the future of these services.

01:09There's been a very extensive recruitment drive, obviously not just overseas but within

01:15the state, within Wyala and interstate.

01:18The full range of birthing services won't be available though until several senior midwives

01:22from the UK arrive.

01:24And that means that women who are expecting more complex births, such as those who need

01:28to be induced, will need to travel at least to Port Augusta for help.

01:31The state government is working with the federal government on a new national midwifery plan.

Category

Transcript

Recommended