Grace, a first time mother from Toowoomba, was overjoyed to meet her baby son. He failed to score more than 4 out of 10 on a typical newborn assessment rubric. Soon after birth, her baby required assistance breathing. During this time, Grace’s mind raced to reflect on her past encounters with the maternity health care workers during labor. She was especially concerned about her fetus’s low bpm (beats per minute) heart rate. For five days prior to delivery, she experienced a change in fetal movement. During the birth of her son in 2021, Grace said she experienced moments in which medical personnel ignored her feelings. This has understandably left her concerned over the level of treatment she will receive during any subsequent pregnancies at Toowoomba Base Hospital.
The hospital’s maternity unit has been under extreme strain in recent weeks, including a full week closure in September. Since reopening on September 7, the facility has only been able to care for half their normal patient load, leading to more panic among expectant parents. Recently Grace and her husband decided to try and have another child. In his words, they are committed to not letting this turn into another stillbirth.
Staff Turnover and Quality of Care Concerns
Alecia Staines, another expectant mother who told her story in the campaign, expressed her frustrations over the chief executive’s continual turnover of staff at Toowoomba Base Hospital. She noted that recent high-profile resignations have led to further instability. This loss is particularly alarming for families who rely on consistent, advanced, and specialized care during key moments such as childbirth.
I have been contacted by a number of other mothers who have had the same experience, Staines said. We need to make sure that we’re attracting and retaining great staff who can give us all the kind of care we want.
Staines is again concerned the hospital will regress to being one of Queensland’s worst-performing maternity services. Previous maternity patient experience surveys have pointed to this alarming likelihood. Today, no parents in the community want to feel tortured by this legacy of failure. As their due dates draw nearer, their stress levels only rise.
Addressing Workplace Culture Issues
In light of these increasingly troubling allegations, Toowoomba Base Hospital performed an internal review of their workplace culture. Montfort’s officials are committed to fixing what has gone wrong with the troubled maternity unit and raising overall patient care. Annette Scott, a spokesperson for the hospital, said they are serious about improving the experience of patients and staff.
Scott continued, “We’re committed to providing the safest, highest-quality, most woman-centered care available. Equally important, we create a workplace culture that supports our staff in doing their best work.
In reality, Grace told me, her anxiety has grown as she gets ready to welcome another baby. She shared her anger in response, stating, “I didn’t feel like I was heard at all—and this happened because no one took me seriously and it could have been prevented.
The Community’s Call for Improvement
The mothers in Grace’s community feel her pain. They lead by example, actively sharing their own experiences with the maternity care system at Toowoomba Base Hospital. They emphasize the need for systemic change to prevent adverse experiences from overshadowing the joy of bringing new life into the world.
Grace remains hopeful despite her concerns. “It would be a shame to let an adverse experience keep us from a lifelong joy of another child,” she remarked.
