Advocacy always essential
TWENTY years after Beaudesert maternity unit was closed and 10 years since the community managed to get it open again, advocates are as watchful as ever.
Beaudesert Hospital maternity unit reopened in 2014 after a heard fought community battle to restore the service.
It was hailed as the first maternity service to be restored in Australia after closure and to this day is considered the envy of many rural communities.
“DON’T take it for granted”.
That is Dave Cockburn’s message for the community as he and other advocates mark one decade since birthing services reopened at Beaudesert Hospital.
Cockburn chaired the Scenic Rim Health Services Taskforce when he was Deputy Mayor and was one of many locals who fought to get maternity services back in 2014.
Fellow local face Marg Moss, who originally hails from Beaudesert, continues to be another key advocate alongside local GP Dr Michael Rice.
“I had my eldest daughter at the old hospital in 1996, my second in the new hospital in 2000 when we had our son in 2005, the service had closed so we had to travel,” she said.
“We didn’t only lose maternity; we’d lost all these other services and I really understood how at risk our whole community was.”
A truly local campaign
Moss became a local consumer representative in 2006 and authored the Community Call to Action 2010-11 paper.
Her personal experience shaped her path in health advocacy well beyond Beaudesert, and to this day she is General Manager of the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland (RDAQ) after becoming Executive Officer in 2011.
She speaks with deep passion about Beaudesert’s thriving maternity unit, with the sign above its door that reads ‘Minyagu Jingi Whalu Jabu Jabani’ meaning ‘welcome children’ in local Mununjali dialect.
“It’s important to note a key part of the local advocacy was working closely with Mununjali Housing and their representative on that taskforce. There’s a unique First Nations community here and that was a really important step in our success,” she said.
“We’ve all got a lot to learn about what happens to a community when it loses its birthing service, understanding why birthing on Country is precious. There’s a parallel there for the whole community. Where your babies are born is the heart of where your community is.”
Community drives success
Cockburn, who helped advocate to politicians and media, service providers and bureaucrats by being vocal at a Council level, said community determination was key.
“I had four generations born in Beaudesert, my grandfather, my father, myself, my sons and when that’s taken away from you, you realise it’s part of the community fabric,” he said.
“It was something the community wanted back, and it had to be driven at that level.”
Long-serving former councillor Virginia West was also active on the taskforce.
She recalls the community’s passion, from the many initial town meetings at RSL and at The Centre to the 2014 reopening at Beaudesert Hospital itself.
“The Metro South executives were blown away that so many residents and local organisations wanted to attend to support the reopening,” she said.
“Delegates from the Beaudesert Chamber of Commerce, Kingfishers Rugby League Club, childcare centres, kindergartens and so many more. In fact, the whole town! This has been such a positive step for so many families in the surrounding areas to be able to birth on country and close to home.”
Krause praises community
State Member for Scenic Rim Jon Krause, who was elected to what was then the seat of Beaudesert in 2012, speaks with pride about the decade of reopened maternity services.
“It has benefitted us all so much. I am continuing through all of my work to improve services at Beaudesert Hospital, especially for improved doctor coverage overnight and at weekends,” he said.
He said bringing back maternity was a big effort by the community, doctors, midwives and Metro South Health staff.
“Then Minister for Health Lawrence Springborg and I were determined to make it happen, despite some saying it was too hard,” he said.
“Thanks to all of the doctors, nurses, midwives and others who have contributed to ensuring Beaudesert Maternity is thriving, and Beaudesert Hospital continues to serve our district.”
Advocacy always matters
Dr Rice, alongside Moss and Cockburn, vividly recalls the announcement from then Health Minister Lawrence Springborg at the 2012 RDAQ Conference on the Gold Coast, promising a 2014 reopening of the service.
He speaks about what it meant further afield and the need for continued expansion.
“If Beaudesert could not be saved then Stanthorpe could not be saved nor Warwick nor Chinchilla nor Emerald nor Kingaroy nor any of the rural hospitals in north Queensland,” he said.
“The price of rural health services is eternal advocacy. The way forward is an advanced and expanding skill set – we need to work now towards expanding the surgical, gynaecology, paediatrics, mental health capacity. In a rural hospital, it’s never just about maternity.”
