Aymon & Lindsay Hollingsworth after Lindsay gave birth to baby Selena at Jeir Creek rest stop, Barton Highway.
Like a b-double’s high- beams, there was no escaping the light the Prime Minister himself shone on the need for maternity services in Yass last week during parliamentary question time. Member for Canberra, Labor’s Alicia Payne asked if the Prime Minister agreed that the plight of mothers giving birth beside the Barton highway was unacceptable and Scott Morrison responded with “that’s why we’ve committed 150 million dollars to upgrade the Barton Highway.”
Laughter and roars of disapproval echoed around the parliament and within 24 hours our national media and even international media in the U.K had seized upon the Australian Prime Minister’s Barton blunder.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Peak professional bodies such as the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RANZCOG), Rural Doctors Association (RDA) and the Australian College of Midwives were quick to condemn.
The President of the Rural Doctor’s Association, Dr John Hall, hit out at the Prime Minister, saying roadside births were nothing to joke about.
“That women have, for more than 15 years, had to travel from the town of Yass, more than an hour to either Canberra or Goulburn to birth their babies adds to the risk, stress and expense for many, many families” – Dr Hall, RDA President.
“To joke that an upgraded highway is in any way a viable substitute for local birthing services is disgraceful” – Rural Doctors President Dr John Hall
RDA President Dr John Hall.
RANZCOG President Dr Vijay Roach also weighed in “There are no circumstances that could make a highway a safe place to give birth. Women outside metropolitan areas have a right to a high standard of healthcare and facilities,” Dr Roach stressed.
Dr Roach says to reinvigorate rural towns, you need to retain the maternity unit. A maternity unit had broader benefits than just providing care to women and babies. Dr Roach explained that a unit required staff, including midwives and allied healthcare professionals, which in turn meant there was more demand for schools and businesses in town. If a unit reached a point where it needed to provide caesareans, that required a theatre and anaesthetics which meant even more jobs and medical capability.
RANZCOG President – Dr Vijay Roach.
“From that point of view if you want to reinvigorate rural towns, you need to retain the maternity unit. From that flows everything,” Dr Roach said.
As your editor, this story is a personal one. I am a mother who has birthed beside the Barton Highway in the back of an ambulance. I struggled to watch with feelings of anger and disgust at our nation’s leader’s response, but I also recognised the opportunity to drive change. I rang the prime minister’s office and presented his staff with an invitation for the PM to drive the Barton Highway with me; to talk about the health needs of rural and regional communities and to see exactly where our mums are forced to pull over and birth. While the PM is yet to respond (I am an optimist), this entire debacle has given our community a platform to discuss Yass Valley’s broader health needs at a national level with politicians and significantly, the peak medical bodies which advise the government.
Our own leader Mayor Rowena Abbey was on Canberra radio before the sun was up the next day, responding to media with our region’s need for better healthcare. Mayor Abbey pointed out it’s no laughing matter for birthing mums nor is it for dialysis patients nor chemotherapy patients either to travel the unduplicated Barton Highway for care.
The full duplication of the Barton Highway and a new Yass Hospital with maternity are both essential improvements for Yass Valley which are now firmly in the spotlight this by-election.
