Shauna Adams says she’s hesitant to celebrate Health Secretary Tom Osborne’s announcement that Gander’s hospital will keep its maternity care unit.
“I think this is an excellent step forward,” said Adams, a Gander mother who recently gave birth in the hospital’s emergency room.
“So if in the future it turns out that he’s like, ‘No, sorry, we can’t, we’ve tried,’ well, then I think it’s time for more drastic measures and steps, like, ‘ Listen, no, we need this now, yesterday, last year.'”
Osborne announced Wednesday that Gander will retain its midwifery unit at the James Paton Memorial Regional Health Center and that diversions to Grand Falls-Windsor will end once sufficient staff are recruited.
The announcement came after both mothers and doctors raised concerns about the potential closure of the department, which has been struggling to stay open due to staff shortages.
Adams gave birth to her 6-month-old baby Matthew in the emergency room at Gander Hospital. She says before arriving at the hospital she thought she might be asked to go to Grand Falls-Windsor, nearly 100 kilometers away.
“There were a lot of people there to help,” Adams said. “But if something hadn’t gone according to plan, then there was no back-up plan. There was nothing you could have done.”
Though many hope Gander’s maternity department will stay open, staff shortages have been a persistent problem across the province, Adams said, which is why many feel Osborne’s promise isn’t guaranteed.
Meanwhile, Adams said there had been discussions among families in Gander about possibly holding a reinstatement rally to raise awareness of the need for a midwifery unit in the town.
She says families will continue to write letters to their respective MHAs and government officials.
Adams says many want to support Gander Hospital, and do it in a positive and respectful way.
“We still need a unit that’s open no matter what the issues that come with it or how difficult it is to take care of,” Adams said. “It has to be done. It has to be a priority.”
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