Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now, if you were listening to the show earlier in
the week, we spoke to two mums concerned about changes
when it comes to maternity services which are being delivered
here in the Northern Territory. Now we've seen a letter
advising that Midwiffree Group Practice on call services have been
stopped while a review is carried out to ensure the
(00:20):
model is sustainable. Now the letter states that anti natal
and post natal appointments are going to be conducted by
Maternity group services, by Maternity Group Practice, i should say,
their team during business hours, and that labor and birth
care will be provided by midwives and doctors then in
the delivery suite. Now we also caught up with the nurses'
(00:43):
union yesterday who said that staff weren't informed about those
changes until the letter was sent to patients and claimed
the stoppage was due to staff shortages. Now I'm pleased
to say that joining me on the line is Nursing
and Midwiffree, director of Operations at Royalty are in hospital.
Sarah and Hahn. Good morning to you, Sarah and.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Good one and Key. Thanks for having me on today.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Yeah, thank you so much for your time this morning. Now,
first off, Why are the midwifree group practices? Why is
that under review at the moment?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
So it's a usual business process to review services across
all disciplines and that includes MGP. And it's also on
the back of the midle Free Futures Report which was
released in October last year, which recognizes that we do
have significant issues with workforce and starting shortages in MIDWI
three nationally and globally, and so part of that is
(01:39):
making sure service is a review to make sure they're
contemporary and that's contemporary and evidence based from a clinical
point of view for consumers, but also to ensure that
we've got workforce sustainability and satisfaction for staff, including being
able to grow our own next generation of future mid
midwives and MGP newwives as well.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
So, Sarah, how long do you anticipate that the review
going to take?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
So we're hoping to meet quickly on this review and
get things sorted and really would hope to have final
products and resolutions definitely before the end of this year.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
So before the end of this year. Now, how many
staff short are we at the moment when it comes
to mid we're for a group practice.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
So we don't have about four shortages, but we also
have obviously people need to take leave and unexpectedly it
happens at times as well, so that can obviously sometimes
exacerbate your staffing shortages at times.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Obviously four doesn't sound like a huge number, but how
big is that team?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
So it's not a huge number, but again the team
is relatively small, so it does have fifteen staff members
to fulfill all of the teams.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
So fifteen staff and then four short and then others
on leave at different times. I mean, that's almost like
a third of your workforce.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, so it is challenging at the moment, as I said,
reflecting those notional trends, and that's not just in we
re Free bat also other jurisdictions with mgps are facing
similar challenges. So yeah, it definitely is challenging for the
staff involved at this time.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
I mean, is any of the challenge I guess as
well with staff, is any of that related to those
positions not being permanent some of those positions.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
No, So it's important that when we advertisee of positions
that we make sure the structure is right and we
know what they look like. And that's again so we
can make sure that going forwards as it is a
sustainable model for future people coming into those and we've
utilized many recruitment strategies to be able to still keep
the service fulfilled, whether that be in temporary contracts or not.
(03:42):
And you always will have some staff in temporary contracts
because obviously we have to cover maternity leave and things
like that as well, so they will always be temporary
while people are on leave for those important times for
themselves as having a baby as well.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
All Right, So, Sarah, the situation that we're in at
the moment, obviously that review into maternity group service practice,
it's hope that it's going to be complete by the
end of the year. Right now, at least four staff
down in that fifteen person team, but obviously that can
fluctuate as well based on based on people being on leave.
(04:15):
What does that mean for women listening this morning who
are either pregnant, are set to give birth, or you know,
are considering going down that path and having babies. What
kind of impact is this going to have for them?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yes, so hopefully the impact is minimal and for a
short period, which is what we've advised to consumers about.
But it is actually to make sure that they do
have safe care and that the care coordination, particularly which
is what's important in the MGP setting, especially the intenagal period,
that's what is important to sustain as well. And by
pausing this on care for this period means we can
(04:54):
ensure that that continuity and coordination of care will continue
to happen for consumers in our service, and particularly for
remote women, they will still receive all of the same
supports and services, which is multidisciplinary and involves community services
as well. That is all still available for women coming
in for remote communities too.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Okay, so right now, if a lady is pregnant and
she calls through to the midway free group practice, you're
not going to be able to get that twenty four
hour support from them at this point in time. You're
going to have to if it's after ours, you're going
to have to call the ward.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Yes, that's actually our normal business practice anyway, when MGP
is on call that outside of ours, women are in
MGP services call through the delivery suite and then we're
able to advise them appropriately, treat them and if we
need to, we can then call their MGP midwife in
which is the usual practice so that's actually unchanged for
women in regards to who they would call out of
(05:52):
ours for advice. But at this time for the four weeks,
obviously we wouldn't be able to call the midwife from
MGP in outside of ours, but we would brief them
in the morning and they would be available to touch
base with the women when they come in in the morning.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I mean, is that going to make it more difficult
for the staff on the war that are already busy.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Well, no, because as I said, this is our normal
business practice that we would take the triaging and often
free women for antenatal concerns out of ours in delivery
suite already, and that's the long standing business practice and
a lot of services do that for mgps to be
able to provide them with manageable and sustainable workload and
then increase their availability for women when they really need them.
(06:32):
So I recognize that in this pause for four weeks
that that isn't there for the intrapartent care out of ours,
but it is certainly still there in regards to continuity
from their midwives and MGP who are still available in
business hours seven days a week.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
All right, Sarah, We've had quite a large number of
mums get in contact with us throughout this week with
differing concerns we did here. We have been told that
inductions are being delayed due to staffing issues.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Is that the case, No, so inductions are challenging because
both thing is unpredictable. But obviously inductions in any jurisdiction
in Australia has to be medically triarched and balanced according
to need. And sometimes things can arise for another consumer
that are quite urgent and their induction might need to
be brought forward. And so it's about medically triarging and
(07:24):
prioritizing care and that's a very normal business practice.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Okay, we are also being told, and we've spoken to
one of these mums on air who said that she
was in labor in the hall or in a public area.
They're sort of on the maternity ward. Is that happening regularly.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
No, it doesn't happen regularly, And I'm obviously unable to
comment on individual situations for individual consumers, but it isn't
something that happens regularly, and it's obviously not the ideal
situation to have someone laboring in a waiting room or
in the hallway. But as I said, birthing is a
bit unpredictable, and so there are times that on occasion
(08:09):
where somebody might present and being labor or early labor
and need a room, and we do have to shuffle
and move patients to accommodate who needs the rooms the
most at the time. And that's just a birthing thing
that sometimes our services are in demand on some days
more than others. But we have capacity management plans in
(08:29):
place to be able to flex up and down as
we need to, because we know that birthing is quite
unpredictable in that nature, so obviously we try and prevent
that from happening at all times. But yes, it does
at times happen where people have to wait, all right.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Last week we also spoke to a mum who had
given birth at home after being sent home by staff.
She said, without an internal examination conducted, she then gave
birth at home within a couple of hours, her mum
catching that baby. Are women being turned away.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Not? And again I can't comment on an individual case
due to confidentiality, but we do not turn women away. Obviously,
we are there twenty four to seven and always available
for women to call us to present a delivery suite
and we will carry out the usual processes and assessments
that are required, which obviously varies on individual cases. And
(09:21):
you know, I am aware of the feedback and obviously
we always we do appreciate consumer feedback and it's one
of the great mechanisms we have to continue to review
and grow and improve our services. So we always welcome
consumers to submit that feedback to us through the appropriate
processes and we would absolutely make contact with them and
discuss their individual case with them.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
So can I ask, obviously, you know the maternity ward
is you know, is still operational and used very busy
at the moment by the sounds of things. What about
the birthing suite that used to be like downstairs on
the ground level at Royal Dalen Hospital, Is it's still operational?
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Yeah, So the MVP actually operates services out of the
birth center on the ground floor and it's a space
that is very busy with activity in business hours, particularly
as they're running those antenatal and post natal services. We
obviously also have the birthing suites there as well, which
are still available for women to use based on their
risk profile and the staffing situation on a day to
(10:20):
day basis, but we are also, as I've mentioned before,
looking at different models of staffing and how we can
hopefully try and utilize the access to that berth into more.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Now. I want to say a lot of the feedback
as well that we're getting from mums there is no
criticism of the staff. They actually think the staff are
doing a brilliant job. But they're worry is that there's
just not enough resources and that there's just not enough space.
You know. That's what we're sort of hearing from quite
a few mums also in terms of you know, the
(10:52):
Darwin Private Hospital's closure of the maternity ward. I mean,
we had been told that that would not have an
impact on the public maternity ward.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
But is it no So that infrastructure challenges and resourcing
their issues that were already at play before the private closed,
and that continues to be a concern. As I said,
we do have infrastructure challenges, we do have an older
building and that's part of the reason why there has
been as the Minister has notified the public of many
(11:23):
months ago of the request to the federal government for
thirty five million dollars to try and get some funding
to improve the infrastructure. Starting again, the resourcing, it is
an ongoing challenge. As I've said, it is a national
and a global issue. So absolutely that isn't a challenge
that we continue to face. And we have a number
of recruitment strategies that we utilize regularly, and we've explored
(11:46):
extra recruitment options as well to try and resolve that
issue around staffing. But it is a problem that is
national and global, and so yeah, it does continue to
be a challenge to us, but that is erstive of
the private sittle clothing.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Sarah and somebody else has contacted us and said, you know, Katie,
the reason why people are waiting as well to be
able to labor in a room in some cases is
because of the time it takes them to clean that room.
I mean, what do you say to that person.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Well, we obviously have robust cleaning processes and that's part
of infection control and patient safety. So there is a
certain amount of time that that takes to do that.
But we do have services available twenty four seven at
ARDIHH which we can utilized to make that happen. So
I don't usually foresee that as a problem, but it
obviously does take a sad amount of time, and that's
(12:40):
to make sure that that space is absolutely right from
the safety and infection point of view for the next consumer, Sarah.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
And we also we have obviously had confirmation I'm sure
that you guys probably already know this that doctor Jenny
Mitchell has obviously said that she is finishing her last
few deliveries later this month, not continuing deliveries at Royal
dah And Hospital after August. We also know that doctor
Alia Vmuri has confirmed that her last babies are going
(13:10):
to be born in January twenty twenty six. What impact
is this going to have on Royal Darwin Hospital.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Well, obviously the patients are already birthing their babies with
us at Royal Dalen Hospital since the transition. It is
unfortunate obviously that that is a choice that women won't
have going forwards for a private obstetrition if those things
do eventuate. But that's probably a matter that.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Yeah, I guess I'm more so mean in terms of
the additional additional needs and associated with women rather than
going to see their private ob for those appointments obviously
having to come through Royal Dahin Hospital and the extra
patients for you guys.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Yeah, so were already providing obviously the midwif free care
in labor and birth those women now, and we've forecasted
that increase in activity and have our capacity management plans
around that. And we also have already early on predicted
and forecasters for that increase in antenatal activity. And we
do also already see a lot of the patients for
some antenatal activity because they come to us from monitoring, etc.
(14:18):
So we obviously build that into our business continuity plans
when we look at our service growth and projections each
year and then try and match out resources to accommodate that.
So we're definitely very aware of that and that is
part of our future planning and also included in the
planning of our maternity services and MGP review to make
sure obviously, as I said, that we can have sustainable
(14:39):
services and workforce going forward.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
All right, Well, you are indeed listening to MIX one
O four nine. We are speaking with nursing Aman Befree,
Director of Operations at Royal Dale and Hospital, Sarah and Hahn. Sarah,
and I do want to ask I know that you
know some women are saying that they're going into State
to birth their babies because they are feeling concerned about
potentially laboring in a hallway, or you know, being sent
(15:04):
home in the early stages of labor, or whatever their
other concerns may be. What do you say to any
mum listening this morning who has those concerns.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Because Edie's unfortunate to hear that, and we do take
pride in the fact that, you know, we're able to
support Territory mums and welcome new little Territorians into the world,
So it is sad to hear people a choosing to
go into state. We have an amazing team of midwives
and doctors here that are very passionate and very committed
to serving the NT women and families, and they continue
(15:39):
to come to work every day and do that and
as a service, you know, we support them and strive
to provide excellent care to all our MTA mums and bubs.
So we hope to continue to do that, and we
strive to do that every day, And you know, I
would hope those mums would stay, but if they don't,
that's obviously their choice. But if they do have concerns,
I would encourage them also to reach out to us
(16:00):
and we can always support them and talk through some
of those concerns with them well.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Nursing and mid we're free Director of Operations at Royal
Darwin Hospital. Sarah and Hahn really appreciate your time this morning.
Thank you very much for joining us on the show.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Thanks very much, Katie, you have a great day, you two.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Thank you
Now, if you were listening to the show earlier in
the week, we spoke to two mums concerned about changes
when it comes to maternity services which are being delivered
here in the Northern Territory. Now we've seen a letter
advising that Midwiffree Group Practice on call services have been
stopped while a review is carried out to ensure the
(00:20):
model is sustainable. Now the letter states that anti natal
and post natal appointments are going to be conducted by
Maternity group services, by Maternity Group Practice, i should say,
their team during business hours, and that labor and birth
care will be provided by midwives and doctors then in
the delivery suite. Now we also caught up with the nurses'
(00:43):
union yesterday who said that staff weren't informed about those
changes until the letter was sent to patients and claimed
the stoppage was due to staff shortages. Now I'm pleased
to say that joining me on the line is Nursing
and Midwiffree, director of Operations at Royalty are in hospital.
Sarah and Hahn. Good morning to you, Sarah and.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Good one and Key. Thanks for having me on today.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Yeah, thank you so much for your time this morning. Now,
first off, Why are the midwifree group practices? Why is
that under review at the moment?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
So it's a usual business process to review services across
all disciplines and that includes MGP. And it's also on
the back of the midle Free Futures Report which was
released in October last year, which recognizes that we do
have significant issues with workforce and starting shortages in MIDWI
three nationally and globally, and so part of that is
(01:39):
making sure service is a review to make sure they're
contemporary and that's contemporary and evidence based from a clinical
point of view for consumers, but also to ensure that
we've got workforce sustainability and satisfaction for staff, including being
able to grow our own next generation of future mid
midwives and MGP newwives as well.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
So, Sarah, how long do you anticipate that the review
going to take?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
So we're hoping to meet quickly on this review and
get things sorted and really would hope to have final
products and resolutions definitely before the end of this year.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
So before the end of this year. Now, how many
staff short are we at the moment when it comes
to mid we're for a group practice.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
So we don't have about four shortages, but we also
have obviously people need to take leave and unexpectedly it
happens at times as well, so that can obviously sometimes
exacerbate your staffing shortages at times.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Obviously four doesn't sound like a huge number, but how
big is that team?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
So it's not a huge number, but again the team
is relatively small, so it does have fifteen staff members
to fulfill all of the teams.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
So fifteen staff and then four short and then others
on leave at different times. I mean, that's almost like
a third of your workforce.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, so it is challenging at the moment, as I said,
reflecting those notional trends, and that's not just in we
re Free bat also other jurisdictions with mgps are facing
similar challenges. So yeah, it definitely is challenging for the
staff involved at this time.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
I mean, is any of the challenge I guess as
well with staff, is any of that related to those
positions not being permanent some of those positions.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
No, So it's important that when we advertisee of positions
that we make sure the structure is right and we
know what they look like. And that's again so we
can make sure that going forwards as it is a
sustainable model for future people coming into those and we've
utilized many recruitment strategies to be able to still keep
the service fulfilled, whether that be in temporary contracts or not.
(03:42):
And you always will have some staff in temporary contracts
because obviously we have to cover maternity leave and things
like that as well, so they will always be temporary
while people are on leave for those important times for
themselves as having a baby as well.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
All Right, So, Sarah, the situation that we're in at
the moment, obviously that review into maternity group service practice,
it's hope that it's going to be complete by the
end of the year. Right now, at least four staff
down in that fifteen person team, but obviously that can
fluctuate as well based on based on people being on leave.
(04:15):
What does that mean for women listening this morning who
are either pregnant, are set to give birth, or you know,
are considering going down that path and having babies. What
kind of impact is this going to have for them?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yes, so hopefully the impact is minimal and for a
short period, which is what we've advised to consumers about.
But it is actually to make sure that they do
have safe care and that the care coordination, particularly which
is what's important in the MGP setting, especially the intenagal period,
that's what is important to sustain as well. And by
pausing this on care for this period means we can
(04:54):
ensure that that continuity and coordination of care will continue
to happen for consumers in our service, and particularly for
remote women, they will still receive all of the same
supports and services, which is multidisciplinary and involves community services
as well. That is all still available for women coming
in for remote communities too.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Okay, so right now, if a lady is pregnant and
she calls through to the midway free group practice, you're
not going to be able to get that twenty four
hour support from them at this point in time. You're
going to have to if it's after ours, you're going
to have to call the ward.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Yes, that's actually our normal business practice anyway, when MGP
is on call that outside of ours, women are in
MGP services call through the delivery suite and then we're
able to advise them appropriately, treat them and if we
need to, we can then call their MGP midwife in
which is the usual practice so that's actually unchanged for
women in regards to who they would call out of
(05:52):
ours for advice. But at this time for the four weeks,
obviously we wouldn't be able to call the midwife from
MGP in outside of ours, but we would brief them
in the morning and they would be available to touch
base with the women when they come in in the morning.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I mean, is that going to make it more difficult
for the staff on the war that are already busy.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Well, no, because as I said, this is our normal
business practice that we would take the triaging and often
free women for antenatal concerns out of ours in delivery
suite already, and that's the long standing business practice and
a lot of services do that for mgps to be
able to provide them with manageable and sustainable workload and
then increase their availability for women when they really need them.
(06:32):
So I recognize that in this pause for four weeks
that that isn't there for the intrapartent care out of ours,
but it is certainly still there in regards to continuity
from their midwives and MGP who are still available in
business hours seven days a week.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
All right, Sarah, We've had quite a large number of
mums get in contact with us throughout this week with
differing concerns we did here. We have been told that
inductions are being delayed due to staffing issues.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Is that the case, No, so inductions are challenging because
both thing is unpredictable. But obviously inductions in any jurisdiction
in Australia has to be medically triarched and balanced according
to need. And sometimes things can arise for another consumer
that are quite urgent and their induction might need to
be brought forward. And so it's about medically triarging and
(07:24):
prioritizing care and that's a very normal business practice.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Okay, we are also being told, and we've spoken to
one of these mums on air who said that she
was in labor in the hall or in a public area.
They're sort of on the maternity ward. Is that happening regularly.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
No, it doesn't happen regularly, And I'm obviously unable to
comment on individual situations for individual consumers, but it isn't
something that happens regularly, and it's obviously not the ideal
situation to have someone laboring in a waiting room or
in the hallway. But as I said, birthing is a
bit unpredictable, and so there are times that on occasion
(08:09):
where somebody might present and being labor or early labor
and need a room, and we do have to shuffle
and move patients to accommodate who needs the rooms the
most at the time. And that's just a birthing thing
that sometimes our services are in demand on some days
more than others. But we have capacity management plans in
(08:29):
place to be able to flex up and down as
we need to, because we know that birthing is quite
unpredictable in that nature, so obviously we try and prevent
that from happening at all times. But yes, it does
at times happen where people have to wait, all right.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Last week we also spoke to a mum who had
given birth at home after being sent home by staff.
She said, without an internal examination conducted, she then gave
birth at home within a couple of hours, her mum
catching that baby. Are women being turned away.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Not? And again I can't comment on an individual case
due to confidentiality, but we do not turn women away. Obviously,
we are there twenty four to seven and always available
for women to call us to present a delivery suite
and we will carry out the usual processes and assessments
that are required, which obviously varies on individual cases. And
(09:21):
you know, I am aware of the feedback and obviously
we always we do appreciate consumer feedback and it's one
of the great mechanisms we have to continue to review
and grow and improve our services. So we always welcome
consumers to submit that feedback to us through the appropriate
processes and we would absolutely make contact with them and
discuss their individual case with them.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
So can I ask, obviously, you know the maternity ward
is you know, is still operational and used very busy
at the moment by the sounds of things. What about
the birthing suite that used to be like downstairs on
the ground level at Royal Dalen Hospital, Is it's still operational?
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Yeah, So the MVP actually operates services out of the
birth center on the ground floor and it's a space
that is very busy with activity in business hours, particularly
as they're running those antenatal and post natal services. We
obviously also have the birthing suites there as well, which
are still available for women to use based on their
risk profile and the staffing situation on a day to
(10:20):
day basis, but we are also, as I've mentioned before,
looking at different models of staffing and how we can
hopefully try and utilize the access to that berth into more.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Now. I want to say a lot of the feedback
as well that we're getting from mums there is no
criticism of the staff. They actually think the staff are
doing a brilliant job. But they're worry is that there's
just not enough resources and that there's just not enough space.
You know. That's what we're sort of hearing from quite
a few mums also in terms of you know, the
(10:52):
Darwin Private Hospital's closure of the maternity ward. I mean,
we had been told that that would not have an
impact on the public maternity ward.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
But is it no So that infrastructure challenges and resourcing
their issues that were already at play before the private closed,
and that continues to be a concern. As I said,
we do have infrastructure challenges, we do have an older
building and that's part of the reason why there has
been as the Minister has notified the public of many
(11:23):
months ago of the request to the federal government for
thirty five million dollars to try and get some funding
to improve the infrastructure. Starting again, the resourcing, it is
an ongoing challenge. As I've said, it is a national
and a global issue. So absolutely that isn't a challenge
that we continue to face. And we have a number
of recruitment strategies that we utilize regularly, and we've explored
(11:46):
extra recruitment options as well to try and resolve that
issue around staffing. But it is a problem that is
national and global, and so yeah, it does continue to
be a challenge to us, but that is erstive of
the private sittle clothing.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Sarah and somebody else has contacted us and said, you know, Katie,
the reason why people are waiting as well to be
able to labor in a room in some cases is
because of the time it takes them to clean that room.
I mean, what do you say to that person.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Well, we obviously have robust cleaning processes and that's part
of infection control and patient safety. So there is a
certain amount of time that that takes to do that.
But we do have services available twenty four seven at
ARDIHH which we can utilized to make that happen. So
I don't usually foresee that as a problem, but it
obviously does take a sad amount of time, and that's
(12:40):
to make sure that that space is absolutely right from
the safety and infection point of view for the next consumer, Sarah.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
And we also we have obviously had confirmation I'm sure
that you guys probably already know this that doctor Jenny
Mitchell has obviously said that she is finishing her last
few deliveries later this month, not continuing deliveries at Royal
dah And Hospital after August. We also know that doctor
Alia Vmuri has confirmed that her last babies are going
(13:10):
to be born in January twenty twenty six. What impact
is this going to have on Royal Darwin Hospital.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Well, obviously the patients are already birthing their babies with
us at Royal Dalen Hospital since the transition. It is
unfortunate obviously that that is a choice that women won't
have going forwards for a private obstetrition if those things
do eventuate. But that's probably a matter that.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Yeah, I guess I'm more so mean in terms of
the additional additional needs and associated with women rather than
going to see their private ob for those appointments obviously
having to come through Royal Dahin Hospital and the extra
patients for you guys.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Yeah, so were already providing obviously the midwif free care
in labor and birth those women now, and we've forecasted
that increase in activity and have our capacity management plans
around that. And we also have already early on predicted
and forecasters for that increase in antenatal activity. And we
do also already see a lot of the patients for
some antenatal activity because they come to us from monitoring, etc.
(14:18):
So we obviously build that into our business continuity plans
when we look at our service growth and projections each
year and then try and match out resources to accommodate that.
So we're definitely very aware of that and that is
part of our future planning and also included in the
planning of our maternity services and MGP review to make
sure obviously, as I said, that we can have sustainable
(14:39):
services and workforce going forward.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
All right, Well, you are indeed listening to MIX one
O four nine. We are speaking with nursing Aman Befree,
Director of Operations at Royal Dale and Hospital, Sarah and Hahn. Sarah,
and I do want to ask I know that you
know some women are saying that they're going into State
to birth their babies because they are feeling concerned about
potentially laboring in a hallway, or you know, being sent
(15:04):
home in the early stages of labor, or whatever their
other concerns may be. What do you say to any
mum listening this morning who has those concerns.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Because Edie's unfortunate to hear that, and we do take
pride in the fact that, you know, we're able to
support Territory mums and welcome new little Territorians into the world,
So it is sad to hear people a choosing to
go into state. We have an amazing team of midwives
and doctors here that are very passionate and very committed
to serving the NT women and families, and they continue
(15:39):
to come to work every day and do that and
as a service, you know, we support them and strive
to provide excellent care to all our MTA mums and bubs.
So we hope to continue to do that, and we
strive to do that every day, And you know, I
would hope those mums would stay, but if they don't,
that's obviously their choice. But if they do have concerns,
I would encourage them also to reach out to us
(16:00):
and we can always support them and talk through some
of those concerns with them well.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Nursing and mid we're free Director of Operations at Royal
Darwin Hospital. Sarah and Hahn really appreciate your time this morning.
Thank you very much for joining us on the show.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Thanks very much, Katie, you have a great day, you two.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Thank you
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