Back in 2015, a young couple, Mr and Mrs Amone, went to the Fairfield Government Hospital for help in having a baby, and got none – and the baby died.
During the Coronial enquiry into the baby’s death, Mr Amone testified that, as the baby was coming, he went to the door of the delivery room and shouted out for help – but no one came. Obviously everything in the hospital at the time had a higher priority than helping couples have their babies
(Incidentally, what the Coroner decided amounted to, “Cheer up everybody, the baby would have died anyway!” – nothing about how the chances of the baby’s survival might have been improved if any help had been provided.)
All this resulted in us emailing Brad Hazzard, NSW’s Minister for Health and asking if he thought there would ever be any government hospitals in the western suburbs of Sydney to which couples could go for help in having a baby, knowing that help would be GUARANTEED!
In response, we got this letter from Ms Elizabeth Koff, who has the grand title of Secretary of New South Wales Health (who we believe is on $600,000 a year, no less.)
As we’ve often said, this is the least helpful, most useless letter we’ve ever got in our whole lives.
What to do? What to do?
All we can think of is that this question be sent to the Government hospitals in the western suburbs of Sydney and other Government hospitals – “If couples come to your hospital for help in having a baby, do your people GUARANTEE that they would always get it, that they would never be left to try to deliver their baby themselves without any help?” And that those who provide a “Yes” answer be publicised.
Of course, Premier Gladys Berejiklian, or Minister for Heath Brad Hazzard, or someone in our government should be arranging for this to be done – but it appears that this is not the sort of thing they do.
Of course, it shouldn’t be left to “pot luck’ as to whether any of the couples in New South Wales won’t end up having to deliver their baby themselves, as happened to Mr and Mrs Amone – but we are yet to see any indication that anything has changed since 2015, and/or that anyone who has the power to change things cares.