It has been a long year wait, but birthing services will be returning to the Whyalla Hospital. From next week, the hospital birthing unit will be available to women with low-risk pregnancies.
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00:00For Natasha Watson, the return of birthing services to Wyala has come just a little too
00:07late.
00:08She endured the strain of not having a local hospital for her pregnancy.
00:12Leading up to it was quite exhausting and I was very anxious with just not knowing what
00:20was happening.
00:21Miss Watson suffered from an irritable uterus and had to make the 75km trek to Port Augusta
00:26weekly for check-ups.
00:27Quite often it would restart a few of the contractions so I'd have to stay in overnight
00:32in Port Augusta before I was released to be able to come back home.
00:35The return of birthing services has come in time for Nurse Taylor Breen, who's looking
00:39forward to giving birth in her hometown.
00:41It was a really big relief finding out that we could have it here rather than having to
00:44organise travel, possibly having to organise accommodation if it was a longer hospital
00:50stay.
00:51The Wyala birthing unit was shut down in June last year because of a critical shortage of
00:55Following an independent review and a newly built ward, patients will be welcomed back
01:00next week.
01:01We've brought in new leadership, they've established a new culture, they're in a new location in
01:05the new part of the hospital.
01:07We're confident in terms of the future of these services.
01:09There's been a very extensive recruitment drive, obviously not just overseas but within
01:15the state, within Wyala and interstate.
01:18The full range of birthing services won't be available though until several senior midwives
01:22from the UK arrive.
01:24And that means that women who are expecting more complex births, such as those who need
01:28to be induced, will need to travel at least to Port Augusta for help.
01:31The state government is working with the federal government on a new national midwifery plan.