A mother in her mid-40s with 12 children has lost her appeal against Sunshine’s Western Hospital, which she claims accepted her into a home birth program before later rejecting her.
In a July 1 hearing at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, former Sunbury resident Tracey Wilson and her husband, Eric, argued that by turning them away from its home birth program in 2011, the Western Hospital had violated the couple’s and their child Sophia’s human and consumer rights.
However, the hospital argued that her pregnancy needed to be “low risk’’ and Mrs Wilson’s age, then 44, a previous post-partum haemorrhage and her 11 previous births meant she was excluded from the program.
The couple say they wanted to be part of the program because it was cheaper than paying a private midwife for a home birth, a cost of about $3500.
The couple falsely believed they were accepted based on a phone conversation between their first midwife, Ann Hallett, and Western Hospital obstetrician Dr Thao Le when Mrs Wilson was 12 weeks pregnant. Dr Le said in evidence that she felt she was agreeing to see Mrs Wilson and that she should continue to get care. At 25 weeks, the couple had a meeting with Associate Professor Glyn Teale, who is responsible for clinical operations at the hospital’s women’s and children’s services division.
Associate Professor Teale later confirmed via email that Mrs Wilson’s pregnancy was not “low risk’’ and therefore she was unsuitable.
“I explained to Mrs Wilson that her advanced maternal age and her 11 previous births were factors that would … increase the risk of complications,’’ Associate Professor Teale said in evidence.
Mrs Wilson told the tribunal she was “shocked at the brutality’’ of the decision.
In written findings, VCAT’s Dr Rebecca French dismissed the claim and allowed the hospital to seek costs. She said the couple’s assertion that the decision at six months was too late was “not well founded’’ and phone “acceptance’’ could not be considered “final’’.
with The Age
