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New joint venture post-natal unit |
 St Vincent’s Hospital Lismore has agreed to provide the premises that will house a divisional-supported day stay unit for mothers with post natal and mothercare issues.
Dr Bill Buddee, chair of the hospital board, made the announcement at a recent meeting between the division, St Vincent’s and representatives from Dona Maria, the Sydney based group awarded the contract during the election campaign to establish a phone support line and facilitate support groups in the area.
“We have been working closely with St Vincent’s to move this proposal forward and are delighted with this news,” Dr Tony Lembke, chair of the division, said.
“Women experiencing post-natal difficulties in this region currently face the choice to suffer alone, be readmitted to hospital, or travel to Sydney or Brisbane for treatment within a residential facility. The new day only service will be able to address some of these issues and also be a place where mothers can learn mothercraft skills.”
The day-stay unit will be established in the old convent site in the grounds of St Vincent’s Hospital. Initially it will employ one midwife or early childhood nurse and operate three days a week.
Negotiations are still in the early stages, but it is hoped the unit will be operational sometime in 2002.
Common issues for new mothers around the time of childbirth involve disillusionment, anxiety, and adjustment disorders. They constitute significant public health problems that are frequently undetected, unexplained and untreated, underestimated or mismanaged by health professionals and misunderstood in the community.
With 10-15 percent of women experiencing clinical depression following childbirth, about 331-497 cases of postnatal depression would have been expected in this area in 1998/99. While just one patient with PND was admitted to Lismore Base Hospital in that year, more than 300 women make telephone contact with Tresillian each year. The new Dona Maria services in the area will specifically target post natal depression as a welcome adjunct to the existing local services.
The division and St Vincent’s believe the post-natal day unit will significantly reduce the need for local women to travel to metropolitan areas for assistance. The unit will also address some of the inequities faced by families residing in this region.
Referrals to the new service will come from GPs, obstetricians, paediatricians, early childhood nurses and local hospital post-natal units.
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