The head of the maternity clinic at Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock, British Columbia, says the indefinite closure of the unit will create more difficulty in recruiting pediatricians and will negatively impact patient care.
On Friday, Fraser Health released a written statement saying the hospital will be closing its maternity ward due to what it says is an “unexpected leave” at the facility until it “successfully recruits a full complement of pediatricians to support maternity patients”.
He is asking pregnant women who have pre-existing plans to give birth at Peace Arch Hospital to attend Langley Memorial Hospital for their deliveries, starting Friday, January 28.
Dr. Semion Strovski, director of Peace Arch Maternity, says doctors, nurses and midwives are all disappointed and worried.
“It’s always going to put pregnant patients at risk,” Strovski told CBC. The first edition. “Not only will patients not be able to be delivered by their healthcare providers, with whom they have a relationship, but they must also drive at least 30 minutes to get to another facility.”
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Traumatic experience
Melissa Whithall says she was due to give birth at Peace Arch Hospital in December but was diverted to Surrey Memorial Hospital, around 30 minutes away, when she was in active labour.
“I spent a few hours in triage during my active labor and as soon as I was ready to get the baby out I was placed in a delivery room,” Whithall told CBC News. “It was really traumatic and devastating to be in triage…in so much pain.”
Jen Delmaire, founder of the Motherhood Project, says Fraser Health’s decision will only open the doors to other issues and that traumatic childbirth experiences could have a negative impact on an individual’s mental health.
“We’ve seen a huge increase in perinatal mood disorders, whether it’s in pregnancy or postpartum people with birth trauma,” Delmaire said, “and that just opens the doors to create more of those.” .”
The Motherhood Project works closely with maternity clinics, midwives, doulas, physical therapists and birthing families to support those who are pregnant, postpartum and beyond.
Delmaire says the indefinite diversion also poses a security risk.
“I have several of my clients who would be planning a home birth,” Delmaire said. “And the reason for that is that they live very close to Peace Arch, so they feel safe enough knowing they have a facility right there.”
Persistent problem
The shortage of pediatricians at Peace Arch is not a new or sudden problem, Strovski said.
“We had a meeting about three years ago with the head of pediatrics and obstetrics at Fraser Health, as well as our hospital management,” he said. “Fraser Health’s request was as we needed a level 1 pediatric nursery where newborns can go, feed and grow until they can return home safely.”
He says one of the challenges Peace Arch faces in recruiting pediatricians is that it is a small hospital without a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
About 1,000 babies are born each year at Peace Arch Hospital, he says, and he fears the increase in maternity patients will affect staff at Langley Memorial Hospital.
“They clearly felt very worried and thought that maybe they weren’t ready to provide good care to such a large number of patients.”