Griffith Base Hospital has staff vacancies in several wards. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
Griffith Base Hospital will continue to provide maternity services despite ‘staffing challenges’, according to the Murrumbidgee Local Health District.
Several sources have informed Region the hospital’s birthing unit is struggling to find the minimum number of midwives per shift required to provide safe care for women who are pregnant, birthing and in need of postnatal support.
Region asked MLHD how many midwifery vacancies are currently unfilled at Griffith Base Hospital and whether the maternity ward has sufficient staff rostered on upcoming shifts to keep the ward open every day for the next month.
MLHD refused to answer either question but provided the following statement.
“Griffith Base Hospital continues to provide safe, high quality maternity care, including pregnancy, birthing and postnatal care for local women and their families,” a spokesperson said.
“While we are actively bolstering our maternity staff numbers, we appreciate the impact current staffing challenges is having on our workforce. We are closely monitoring rosters to ensure a safe working environment and we use agency and casual midwives wherever possible.
“We also continue to explore other initiatives, including how we can utilise our wider network of facilities and District-wide support services, to ensure staff can provide high quality care for women, their babies and families.
“We also acknowledge the additional pressure these situations can place on staff, and we thank our dedicated midwives, obstetricians and other clinicians for their tireless support, providing high quality care to our women and their babies.”
Griffith nurses protested on Banna Avenue during a statewide strike earlier this month. Photo: Denny Fachin/What’s On Griffith.
In 2022 the hospital’s director of obstetrics and gynaecology, Dr Nava Navaneethan, told media he feared the maternity ward could close due to staff shortages, meaning patients would need to be transferred to Wagga, which is two hours away.
Since then, Griffith Base Hospital has been reliant on agency nurses on temporary contracts to keep services operating.
Region asked MLHD what would happen to pregnant women and new mothers if there was a shift where the minimum staffing requirements was not met, and if the ward needed to be closed, would patients be transferred to Wagga.
The MLHD did not answer this question but a spokesperson provided this relevant comment: “On some occasions transfers to other hospitals are required to ensure the safest and most appropriate care can be provided. We work closely with pregnant women to ensure they have suitable care plans in place.”
The NSW Nurses & Midwives Association (NSWNMA) has argued that several wards at Griffith hospital will continue to suffer from staff shortages while pay rates and conditions lag behind neighbouring states Victoria and Queensland.
“We’re never going to be able to recruit sufficiently if we are not offering the same pay rates and conditions as other states,” NSWNMA Griffith branch secretary Kristy Wilson said.
Earlier this month, Ms Wilson joined other nurses from Griffith, Wagga, Coolamon, Wollongong and Yass in travelling to Sydney to join a 12,000-strong protest over the NSW Government’s refusal to grant them a 15 per cent pay rise.
“You have to wonder where the state of health care is going in NSW. We are already a long way behind getting our health system to a safe state, but that line keeps getting further and further away.”
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