Pregnant women left in lurch with no midwives left at Carnarvon Health Campus

Carnarvon Health Campus does not have a single midwife, leaving pregnant women and their babies without direct access to the vital skill set in the event they go into labour unexpectedly. The complete absence of midwives in the Gascoyne town — which has a population of more than 5000 — has been slammed by the Australian Nursing Federation for “exponentially” increasing the risk to expectant mothers. A shortage of midwives and obstetricians forced the cancellation of scheduled births at Carnarvon Health Campus in early 2022, forcing pregnant women to travel hundreds of kilometres to Geraldton or Perth to deliver their babies. However, up until last week the hospital still had midwives onsite to provide antenatal and postnatal care — and available to assist in the event of an emergency birth. The West Australian understands Carnarvon’s last midwife, who was contracted through an agency, left the town on December 1. Yvonne Bagwell, WA Country Health Service’s executive director nursing and midwifery, would not say when the staff member left but confirmed “we have an unexpected gap in our midwifery roster in Carnarvon”. “This situation was unforeseen and despite a national shortage of midwives we have already sourced a replacement to commence in just over a week,” she said. “In the interim, a comprehensive antenatal and postnatal service is still available locally through WA Country Health Service contracted GP obstetricians. “There is no impact to patient care.” Ms Bagwell added Carnarvon Health Campus had access to an around-the-clock emergency midwifery and obstetrics service via telehealth. ANF State secretary Janet Reah said nurses at Carnarvon Health Campus had informed her they were now expected to pick up some of the duties of midwives. Ms Reah said one claimed to have been told they would receive a “crash course” in operating a cardiotocography machine, which is used to measure a baby’s heart rate. WACHS strongly denied that claim, insisting nurses had only been asked to assist GP obstetricians within their scope of practice. Regardless, Ms Reah said pregnancies were unpredictable and there were times when emergency births could not be avoided. “The risks increase exponentially when there are no midwives available,” she said. “It requires a very different and specific set of skills, which can’t just be learnt on the go. “This is further evidence of an unaware Government who simply don’t know the critical differences in the roles of nurses and midwives.” North West Central MP Merome Beard also took aim at the Cook Government for allowing healthcare in Carnarvon to “deteriorate” over an extended period. “The lives of mothers and babies in Carnarvon are at risk and nurses are being put in the dangerous position of having to deal with situations they are not qualified for,” she said. “In a state as prosperous as WA, it’s extraordinary that women are having to drive 10 hours to give birth away from their families and homes because the Cook Labor Government has dropped the ball on recruitment.”