A whistleblower midwife who alleged dozens of patients had received unsafe maternity care at a Queensland hospital says she has been vindicated by a health watchdog's critical report into the state-run facility.
The Queensland Health Ombudsman's investigation found multiple women received "poor or inadequate" care before or after giving birth at Redcliffe Hospital.
Issues raised included a failure to properly monitor high-risk diabetic patients and medication not being given.Ms Pulleine alleged her internal reports of the blunders were downgraded or not acted upon and that mistakes were being repeated, putting mothers and babies at risk. It said in several instances, concerns about cardiotocography were not escalated to medical officers in accordance with official clinical guidelines.
The hospital failed to assess her diabetes and record observations like blood sugar levels, the report found. The hospital attributed the failed record keeping to staffing levels, inadequate clinical supervision and potential gaps in staff skills, the report said.'I just feel that finally somebody externally has said yes ok we read the charts, that's right, I was right,'' she said."Talking to staff members who still work there, I'm aware there are still problems with staffing and skill levels.
It also concluded that the hospital's process for reacting to reports of mistakes or problems needed to be faster and more thorough. Meg Flaskett, whose newborn baby died just hours after being born at the hospital last year, welcomed the findings but also raised concerns the report had taken too long.
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