"Maternity Ward / MGP and subsequent care."

The good:

My wife recently gave birth to our second son at the Broome Hospital. Fortunately, my wife was apart of the Midwife Group Practice and was allocated Midwife Yvonne. 

My wife and I's experience with Yvonne was second to none. Yvonne's compassion, empathy and care for my wife was well above any expectation either of us had. My wife having a traumatic experience during the birth of our first child (at another hospital) was very anxious about the birth of our second. Yvonne not only took this on board but provided exceptional emotional support for my wife during her entire pregnancy. During the labour phase, I was able to communicate with Yvonne off-site which provided me with valuable information on how to care for my labouring wife which made me feel supported as a partner and father as well. 

At our arrival at hospital, Yvonne greeted us and supported both of us during the birthing phase. There are no words that I can say that explain how safe and supported Yvonne made us feel during the birth of our second child. She was clearly competent, decisive and calm resulting in exceptional support and a safe delivery of our second child at the Broome Hospital. 

Post birth, Yvonne continues to support our family and provide my wife with valuable advice and information moving forward into the next phase of life with our second child. 

In my eyes, Yvonne should be commended for her professionalism, knowledge and clinical care to my wife and newborn child. 

Post the delivery of our child due to unforeseen circumstances he was required to be admitted to the Special Care Nursery. We cannot fault the care provided by the nurses whilst he was staying there. They were all exceptional. 

Every other midwife that took part in my wife's care was also exceptional. 

The bad:

During my wife's stay in the hospital over 2 days due to our child being in the nursery she was required to stay in a room which contained four beds. We are completely understanding of available space within hospitals and whilst a single room is obviously preferred we understand this is not always an option, life happens. 

Whilst my wife stayed in the room, she was required to share a toilet and shower with other patients. The toilet and shower was not cleaned for two days, in-fact the day it was cleaned was as my wife and newborn child was discharged from hospital. Over the course of those two days numerous patients were admitted in the room and shared the facilities along with their family members. We found this quite concerning considering the Rotavirus outbreak during our stay and also the fact that numerous mothers had birthed during similar times and were sharing a toilet whilst leaking the various bodily fluids associated with birth. I strongly believe this is a big risk, especially with infection control in a hospital setting and requires addressing.