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Care Opinion

Partners not being allowed to stay overnight

Posted By New dad of twins

"Partners not being allowed to stay overnight"

About: King Edward Memorial Hospital / Maternity King Edward Memorial Hospital / Paediatrics

(as a parent/guardian),

KEMH has a visiting policy that doesn’t allow partners to stay overnight with their new baby/babies on the ward with the mum. My wife delivered twins via c-section recently close to midnight. They were initially brought to special care nursery but were able to be on the ward with mum after 12 hours which was wonderful. Unfortunately, the hospital won’t let me, husband and father of newborn twins to stay overnight to help care for the twins and my wife which means my wife is trying to recover from a c-section and take care of two new babies and try to express breast milk all on her own overnight. I believe the nurses are so busy that every time my wife calls the nurse it takes them forever to get to her so the babies are crying, my wife needs assistance to get out of bed as she is still bleeding from surgery and she can’t pump every 3 hours as they’ve recommended.

I believe the hospital needs to allow husbands/fathers or at least 1 support person to stay overnight to help as I feel it’s so difficult for a new mum, the new babies and strain the whole family when mum is struggling. I believe it has a huge impact on mental health and really needs to change now. In my opinion, it’s archaic considering society is now encouraging dads to take a more active role in parenting.

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Responses

Response from Jodi Graham, Executive Director, Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group 3 years ago
Jodi Graham
Executive Director,
Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group

Submitted on 9/03/2021 at 4:54 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 5:00 PM

picture of Jodi Graham

Dear New dad of twins,

Thank you for taking the time to provide me with your feedback regarding the current King Edward Memorial Hospital visitor policy.

COVID-19 has changed how we welcome patients and visitors to our hospital. It is the priority of all hospital service providers to focus on providing a COVID-safe health service for our patients, families and staff during this time. Some restrictions are in place in our hospitals to help us do this. For maternity patients at the King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH), two people are permitted during the birth on the labour and birth suite – one essential birth partner and one supporter. Only the essential birth partner can stay with the patient between the hours of 8am and 8pm daily on the postnatal wards. This person must remain the same for the duration of the stay. The second support person becomes a visitor once the patient has been transferred to the postnatal wards.

Aside from the restrictions implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, the current KEMH infrastructure is unfortunately unable to support birthing partners staying overnight with patients. Feedback such as yours will help us understand the preferences of our patients and our families during their pregnancy and birthing journey and will allow for us to plan to support these preferences during the design stages for the new Women and Newborn Health Service hospital on the QEII site.

However, with this in mind, there may be compassionate grounds for exceptional circumstances in which extra support for patients, extended visiting hours or extra visitor/s may be considered. All exceptional circumstances will be undertaken in discussion with a patient’s treating team. They will be determined on a case-by-case basis and consider individual circumstances. They will include an assessment of the risk and benefits to all the individuals involved.

I recognise that becoming a parent is one of the most significant events in a person’s life. I appreciate how important it is for women to have their support network available to them throughout their pregnancy journey and the birth of their child, and I am sorry for the distress that this situation may have caused you and your family.

I would like to congratulate you and your partner on the birth of your twins and thank you once again for providing me with your feedback during what I am sure is a very busy time.

Kind regards

Jodi Graham

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Update posted by New dad of twins (a parent/guardian)

Thanks for your response however I believe that this policy of no visitors overnight was in existence prior to COVID-19. Additionally given the partner or close family usually would be visiting the mum and baby/ies during the day this policy of not having any overnight visitors doesn’t make any sense in managing COVID-19 if the same people are visiting. In my opinion, what difference does it make whether the husband visits during the day or overnight?

With regard to your point about the infrastructure at KEMH not being able to support birth partners overnight, how is this so? If the birth partner is agreeable to stay on the understanding that there won’t be a rollout bed or meals provided and they are happy to sleep/sit in the chair in the room - how is the infrastructure not suitable?

I believe having birth partners/support network available during the night means less demands on your midwifery staff (who in my opinion are stretched thin as it is already) and greater family-centred and patient-centred care.

That being said, after quite a bit of discussion with the director of midwifery in consultation with the executive, management did approve a support person to stay with my wife overnight which was very much appreciated and well utilised as they were able to assist with feeding, washing pumping equipment and changing nappies as well as help my wife with her transfers out of bed - all of which I believe freed up midwives’ time to other things.

Management suggested they might be able to provide enhanced midwifery care which I believe meant employing an additional midwife on for the shift, however, I feel this seemed economically senseless to use taxpayer dollars to fund an additional staff member when family are offering to do it for free.

In my opinion, executive must review their visitation policy for the benefit of the patients/new families and staff.

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