Obstetricians threaten mass walkout over hospital’s staff shortage
They say staff shortages at Blacktown Hospital in Sydney have contributed to infant mortality in its obstetrics unit.
Up to 20 senior obstetricians are promising to quit Blacktown Hospital in Sydney over staff shortages they say contributed to the deaths of four babies in less than two years.
The threatened walkout follows a series of media reports into problems with the hospital’s obstetrics unit, which delivers about 4000 babies annually.
Last month, the Sydney Morning Herald reported the unit had seen four unexpected deaths in newborns between the beginning of 2019 and June this year.
According to the report, a root-cause analysis on the most recent death found bed block was a common issue in the obstetrics unit, often preventing timely management of high-risk babies.
