Fate of maternity and ICU unclear

THERE is uncertainty about the future of St John of God Bendigo Hospital’s maternity and intensive care unit services. 

The maternity unit is the only private hospital birthing service in the region and there are concerns about the impacts its closure could have.  

Emma Jensen had both of her children at SJOG and haemorrhaged after the birth of each. 

She was rushed by ambulance to the Bendigo Health ED the first time after losing two litres of blood in 15 minutes. 

“Significant stuff happened which has changed my course of life,” she said. 

“Being told too that you’re going to possibly have a hysterectomy before at the age of 30 and getting told your husband has to see you before you go into surgery because you might not [come out].” 

While Ms Jensen said while she is grateful for the care she received at Bendigo Health, her experience was the public system was different to private health care, and two days after her emergency surgery she left without any debriefing or referrals. 

“They did their best at Bendigo Health, but when you go into shook, you’re unable to use your voice, and when you lose your voice, you lose your choice,” said Ms Jensen. 

In contrast, she said the continuity of care she received at SJOG made a huge difference the next time around.  

“I remember being in the wheelchair and not wanting to move, not wanting to get up, and then Nicole’s (head of maternity) face is there, and I said, ‘I don’t want to move,’ and she said, ‘I know, but we’ve got you’,” said Ms Jensen. 

“Feeling safe is so important, and when I stayed at Saint John of God, Ben (her husband) could stay with me. 

“And I was treated as a person, not a patient. That’s the difference.” 

Although Ms Jensen said she is not having any more children, she believes other local women should have the option of private maternity care. 

“For people like me, and my family, it’s quite scary to give birth, we definitely needed to be in hospital longer and needed more support than the average person,” she said. 

“If we lose St John of God maternity, our only (private) option is Melbourne. 

“Not having familiar faces scares the life out of you when you’re about to die.” 

Chief executive officer at St John of God Bendigo, Michael Hogan, said after meeting recently with Bendigo Health and other stakeholders he is more hopeful about its maternity and ICU units remaining open. 

“Those have been productive meetings,” he said. We’re still working through with them what collaboration we can undertake that might assist. 

“The issue without both of our services, ICU and maternity, is a lack of volume, and that makes them less viable.  

“We don’t want the uncertainty to go on for too long, so that the general public will know where they stand in terms of ongoing services. 

“We’re really grateful for that support, and I’m optimistic we’ll be able to find solutions. I’m more optimistic now than I have been, but we’re not over the line yet.” 

Mr Hogan said the hospital has set a timeline to have made a decision “one way or the other” by the middle of November. 

As part of the community consultation process around the future of the services, St John of God Bendigo will be holding an information session on Sunday 5 November between 2pm to 4pm in the hospital atrium.