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A Queensland woman says her past experiences, recent resignations and a workplace culture review at a maternity unit have her concerned as she and her husband add to their family. Grace, who did not want to reveal her real name, said she was concerned about the quality of care she would receive at Toowoomba Base Hospital. Grace, who is in her 20s, said she felt she was not listened to by some staff during the 2021 birth of her son. She said she raised concerns for five days about her unborn baby's low heart rate and low fetal movements. After his birth, she said a tool healthcare providers used to assess newborns scored him at four out of 10, and the baby required help to breathe. "I just remember feeling like this is a long time for him not to be crying, and that was quite nerve-racking," she said. Impacts on parenting decisions Her son made a full recovery, but she said the situation could have potentially been avoided, a realisation that did not happen until years later when she considered having more children. "I can only imagine if it's a vulnerable person accessing the service that the risks to them of having an adverse experience or negative experience would be greater." In the past week, the ABC has spoken with two other women who also expressed concerns about maternity care at the Toowoomba hospital. Workplace complaints An "independent workplace culture review" is underway at the hospital's maternity unit after complaints about workplace culture. The review comes after recent resignations of senior figures within the unit, while other senior staff have taken leave. The ABC understands two directors of obstetrics have resigned in recent weeks, and the midwifery unit manager, director of nursing and midwifery, and two other senior midwives are on leave. The founder of maternity lobby group Maternity Consumer Network, Alecia Staines, said she saw the resignations as a "slow unravelling" of strong leadership at the hospital. "It's concerning, it's disappointing, it's disheartening," she said. Ms Staines said she was worried about the hospital returning to a period when it was one of the worst-performing maternity services in Queensland, according to maternity patient experience surveys. 'Focus on woman-centred care' Darling Downs Health chief executive Annette Scott said in a statement that there was no impact on the quality, safety, and continuity of care and service delivery provided at the Toowoomba maternity unit after the resignations. She said arrangements were in place to maintain stability and continuity of care with all leadership roles filled within the unit. It comes after Toowoomba's only private birthing hospital, St Vincent's, reduced operations of its special care nursery from full capacity due to staffing shortages. It closed for a week in September and has been operating at limited capacity since it reopened on September 7. Ultimately, Grace said she and her husband decided to add to their family and were focused on bringing a healthy baby into the world. "It would be a shame to let an adverse experience keep us from a lifelong joy of another child," she said.
