WHILE most readers will be well aware of the current concerns over possible nursing cuts across the Greater Southern Area Health Service, we are only now learning of how our own local district may be negatively affected.
With the biggest concerns regionally having been for staff at the Cooma Hospital, Bombala district residents have been feeling somewhat distanced from the recent controversy.
We now learn, however, that Community/ Outreach Midwife, Fiona Tuckerman may face a severe reduction in hours, which could lead to radically reduced services to new mothers throughout the Bombala district.
At a recent meeting with the NSW Nurses Association, Fiona learnt that her job share hours with another midwife are likely to be halved, with the Cooma Hospital now in dispute with GSAHS to ensure this does not happen.
“The Community Outreach Midwife position is not part of Community Health Services, we’re funded by the hospital at Cooma. This [midwife] position has been specifically earmarked to be reduced by half,” Mrs Tuckerman said.
“The service is critical to places like Bombala and Jindabyne; if our hours are reduced by half, there will be no visiting service. There just won’t be enough hours in the day.”
Mrs Tuckerman explains that the role provides both pre-natal and post-natal care, and considers women’s psychological, emotional and physical needs.
“The whole aim of the service is to get care to women where they live, or close enough to where they live,” she said.
“If the service is cut, there will be no pre-and post-natal education unless those women find the motivation and sometimes overcome health issues to attend classes in Cooma.”
The position is an important part of the NSW State Govern ment’s ‘Family First Safe Start Initiative’.
“It has been deemed an important need to have a comprehensive emotional assessment of a woman’s health as well as their physical wellbeing,” Mrs Tuckerman said.
“GSAHS has just looked at the numbers and statistics of this service and gone ‘oh we’ll just cut it in half’, without having any comprehension of what the role entails.
“It’s already largely understood that Bombala is an extremely disadvantaged area in terms of services and resources for these women - and this is just adding to their disadvantage.
“I’ve been in this role for the last 12 months, and I was going to try and get more time to visit these areas; I wanted to go there once a week.
“I see these women during their pregnancy and I can educate them about what needs to happen during their labour - about travelling to Cooma Hospital for the birth because Bombala Hospital just isn’t equipped for those maternity services.
“If these services disappear, Bombala Hospital is going to see more birthing women rolling up to their doors.”
Mrs Tuckerman said she is currently seeing clients that are too physically unwell to make it down the street to do their shopping - let alone travel to Cooma to attend birthing classes.
“There’s this whole complexity of people involved, and if that service drops off, I don’t know what will happen to them,” she said.
“It doesn’t stop at Bombala - I go to the border and I’ve seen women on the other side of Delegate.
“We support these women throughout their pregnancy and after they’ve had their babies. The Child and Family Health Nurse at Bombala take care of them after the birth, but if [that nurse] is busy or it’s a difficult case, we will share clients. This is continuity of care, and it’s vital we provide that.
“Access and equity to these kind of services is what we’re supposed to be providing - by withdrawing this, you are denying them that.
“GSAHS will say nothing has been cut, nothing has been decided, it’s all in consultation. We decided the community needs to be aware of what’s going on. If it was all purely numbers, it would be simpler - but it’s not,” Mrs Tuckerman concluded.
So what does the Greater Southern Area Health Service have to say?
GSAHS has denied the cuts saying “all current midwifery services will be maintained, including outreach services to Bombala and Jindabyne.”
However, the Area Health Service is currently developing new nurse staffing rosters in consultation with staff and
the NSW Nurses’ Association.
The new rosters are being introduced as new nurse staff profiles are being negotiated in each health facility across GSAHS.
The Award has a reasonable workloads clause where the level of staffing is determined by the amount of work.
To ensure nurses have a reasonable workload, staffing is flexed up or down according to hospital activity and occupancy.
Health workers are concerned the community again has not been consulted with nurses from both A Level and Community Health also saying plans to reduce positions and hours in their sections were rushed and without consultation.
GSAHS is in daily discussions with nurses and the NSW Nurses Association about any proposed reduction in hours for staff.
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