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Speaker 1: Joining me on the line is Lee.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 3: Lee had a had her baby and had a three

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Speaker 3: month stay in the neonatal intensive care unit.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Lee, Hi, good morning, Thanks so

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Speaker 1: much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Lee.

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Speaker 1: How early was your bub born?

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Speaker 2: She was twenty six weeks back in twenty ten.

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Speaker 3: Oh wow, that is such It's so early. It must

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Speaker 3: have been quite frightening for you.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it was a pretty horrendous time in our life.

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Speaker 2: I have to say. She weighed seven hundred and eighty

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Speaker 2: three grams and my wedding rings set up her thigh,

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Speaker 2: so she was very tiny.

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Speaker 3: Oh my goodness, me, Lee, I cannot even imagine, you know,

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Speaker 3: some of the emotions, some of the fear that you

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Speaker 3: must have felt when your bub was born and so early.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and the next unexpected nature of it was what

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Speaker 2: really kind of flawed us. She was our first baby,

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Speaker 2: and I honestly didn't know that the NICU world existed

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Speaker 2: until I had her so early, and we were thrust

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Speaker 2: into that world. So I can only imagine. There was

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Speaker 2: a time when she was really unwell where there was

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Speaker 2: conversation about her having to be sent to Royal Melbourne

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Speaker 2: because she was too unwell for the local NICU team

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Speaker 2: to treat her that she was too unwell to send.

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Speaker 2: Luckily for us and thanks to the NICKU angels as

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Speaker 2: I like to call them, because they do an amazing

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Speaker 2: job and I'm forever grateful to them, she pulled through

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Speaker 2: and we didn't have to. So our ninety two days

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Speaker 2: of her being in hospital from was based here in

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Speaker 2: the Darwen Loy Darwin Hospital.

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Speaker 1: Oh my goodness.

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Speaker 3: So, Lee, Look, there's a couple of things that I'm

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Speaker 3: taking from what you've just said there when I look

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Speaker 3: at the cut to these services and I know that

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Speaker 3: you know, by the sounds of it, it seems as

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Speaker 3: though it's temporary and they're they're trying to, you know,

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Speaker 3: to to do various different things. But first off, the

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Speaker 3: fact that you said that that for your child, that

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Speaker 3: they went through a they went through a stage where

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Speaker 3: they were really quite unwell and wouldn't have been able

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Speaker 3: to travel. You know, that makes me now question, well,

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Speaker 3: what happens if there is another family that's in the

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Speaker 3: situation that you guys were in, you know, all those

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Speaker 3: years ago, and they're not they're not able to be

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Speaker 3: cared for here.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and you know, it does happen there is definitely

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Speaker 2: the need for a baby to be sent into States.

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Speaker 2: From my understanding from my time back then, you know,

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Speaker 2: it doesn't happen too and the hospital is extremely experienced

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Speaker 2: with the air transport team and all of that kind

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Speaker 2: of thing. I have no concern about the hospital's intentions

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Speaker 2: or the transport or anything like that. For me, my

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Speaker 2: main concern is if you so, any woman who's pregnant

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Speaker 2: in Darwin at this time who goes into emergency labor

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Speaker 2: or spontaneous labor prior to thirty two weeks, all of

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Speaker 2: them are looking down the gauntlet of having to go

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Speaker 2: into stage because of the lack of doctors who are

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Speaker 2: able to intubate and whatever else that CAP had said.

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Speaker 2: But the other thing about that is, and also so

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Speaker 2: they said about intubator babies and babies on seapap, which

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Speaker 2: is breathing assistance. Now, our daughter was on sepats for

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Speaker 2: seven weeks so for us to have. Luckily for us,

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Speaker 2: she was our first child. The families who have businesses

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Speaker 2: and jobs and other children and all of that kind

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Speaker 2: of thing having to uproot purely because there's a lack

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Speaker 2: of staff in your local excellent nicou is a serious problem.

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Speaker 2: And while we were there, we dealt with a huge

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Speaker 2: range of staff, probably fifty in the time across those

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Speaker 2: months we were there, and there was a really good,

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Speaker 2: well trained pool of staff who worked across the three

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Speaker 2: different areas of the NIKU and in that high dependency

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Speaker 2: ICU kind of station. So my concern is why all

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Speaker 2: of a sudden is they're not enough staff. What is

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Speaker 2: going on within that nickum unit for there not to

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Speaker 2: be enough staff, because there certainly has been over the years.

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Speaker 2: Where is this coming from? Why don't people want to

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Speaker 2: work in there?

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Speaker 3: Well, this is you know, that's a good point to make.

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Speaker 3: And and you know, then as you've touched on as well,

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Speaker 3: like you said that you and your bub were in

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Speaker 3: there for.

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Speaker 1: Ninety something days, like that's months. Can you imagine that.

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Speaker 2: There was another family here we met who had already

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Speaker 2: been there for six months when we arrived. You know,

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Speaker 2: we were very lucky our daughter on the you know,

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Speaker 2: the overall she was very healthy. Yeah, there are some

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Speaker 2: incredibly sick babies that get born and as a result

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Speaker 2: of prematurity, you know, they can be in hospital for

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Speaker 2: twelve months more.

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Speaker 1: Yep, And this is it.

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Speaker 3: And then how on earth would you cope as like

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Speaker 3: a first time mom's, second time mom, anytime mom or

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Speaker 3: dad or family being away for that period of time.

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Speaker 2: That's right. Yeah, and the financial implications for us specifically, yeah,

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Speaker 2: suddenly going on Malee. You know, I worked for True

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Speaker 2: as the mentee, so I was able to fall back

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Speaker 2: on paid print leave. If that hadn't have been there,

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Speaker 2: we would have been in all sorts of hot water

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Speaker 2: with our mortgage and things that. You know, if you

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Speaker 2: don't have those systems or support systems, or your partner

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Speaker 2: can't be with you into your faith, it's you know,

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Speaker 2: it's a long haul. I have post traumatic stress disorder

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Speaker 2: as a result of our NICU journey. You know, the

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Speaker 2: risks to families, not just the babies, but too families

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Speaker 2: as a result of our local NIKU being understar. Really

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Speaker 2: it's unacceptable.

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Speaker 3: I'm so glad you called this morning ly, you know,

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Speaker 3: because I think so often you actually we need this perspective,

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Speaker 3: and you know, you need to know the impact that

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Speaker 3: this could potentially have on different families. And I understand

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Speaker 3: that you know that that that Royal Darwin Hospital and

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Speaker 3: certainly the department must be trying to work their butts

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Speaker 3: off to make some change to ensure that this works.

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Speaker 3: But you know, we live in a capital city. We

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Speaker 3: don't live you know, we're not living in a really

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Speaker 3: regional area. We live in a capital city, a location

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Speaker 3: that we t to out as you know, a place

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Speaker 3: that we want to be, like the capital of Northern Australia.

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Speaker 3: We've got to have these services for families.

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Speaker 2: That's right. And you know, if you think about remote

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Speaker 2: Indigenous communities, you're in the top end. Darwin is part

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Speaker 2: of a hub of where family members may be. So

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Speaker 2: if someone has had to come from norm Boy to

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Speaker 2: the Darwin Nikkey because their baby is so unwell or

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Speaker 2: so early, then and sorry, yes it's not just premature

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Speaker 2: babies who might need intubations. Babies can be just as

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Speaker 2: ill for various reason. So you know what's going on

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Speaker 2: with damn, I'm not sure, but you know, so if

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Speaker 2: you've got Indigenous women who are coming to have a

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Speaker 2: baby and you know, throwing into that Nico world as well,

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Speaker 2: but then they don't get to stay and do and

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Speaker 2: where there might be some support, and they've got to

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Speaker 2: be sent to Melbourne where there's no support. You know,

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Speaker 2: it's a whole other level of Oh, it's creation.

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Speaker 3: Well, this is the thing, and you're at such a

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Speaker 3: vulnerable time of your life anyway as a mom, right,

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Speaker 3: like when particularly is the first time Mum.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I was actually a private patient and they were

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Speaker 2: really good to me and let me have my room

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Speaker 2: at the private hospital for about I think five days

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Speaker 2: after our daughter was born, and they were stuffing food

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Speaker 2: in the fridge for me and all of that kind

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Speaker 2: of thing, you know, because you don't get fed over

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Speaker 2: at the public where you do at the private kind

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Speaker 2: of stuff. But the day I was discharged from the

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Speaker 2: private hospital and I had to drive away from the

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Speaker 2: hospital ground and leave my baby in a hospital, I

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Speaker 2: was just destroyed. I sat there howling in the car

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Speaker 2: for about an hour and a half. You know. It

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Speaker 2: was just such a terrible time. And I'm sure like

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Speaker 2: we are still patients of RDIH. I've never had an

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Speaker 2: issue with RDIH that My concern is what is happening

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Speaker 2: within that nicky unit that is making people not want

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Speaker 2: to be there. Why is there a staff shortage? It's

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Speaker 2: not just about COVID. It must there must be something

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Speaker 2: else going on, Lee, I really millions of dollars worth

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Speaker 2: of equipment that people are fundraised for and here it's

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Speaker 2: very well equipped.

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Speaker 3: So well, let us look, we'll continue to speak about

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Speaker 3: it and continue to try and get some answers, because

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Speaker 3: I think you've raised some really really important points. Lee,

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Speaker 3: Before I let you go very quickly, your daughter must

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Speaker 3: be thirteen or fourteen now.

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Speaker 2: Is she? Yeah, she's about to turn fourteen.

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Speaker 3: It's a good age and interesting age. My daughter is

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Speaker 3: just a little bit younger.

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Speaker 2: We've actually run into you and spotlight on my daughter

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Speaker 2: was all taken with you.

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Speaker 3: I love it, or Lee, I am so grateful that

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Speaker 3: you called this morning. I just think it's I reckon,

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Speaker 3: it's so important. It provides that perspective for us. And

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Speaker 3: the point you've made then as well about all the

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Speaker 3: money that's been raised for the NIKU over the years

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Speaker 3: as well through those private fundraisers. It's like, you know,

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Speaker 3: we've got to there's got to be a closer look

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Speaker 3: into this.

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Speaker 1: There's got to be some kind of change here.

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Speaker 2: Well. I think the other point that I wanted to

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Speaker 2: raise quickly is that, Okay, so we've got South Australian

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Speaker 2: Police officers coming to help in our spring. I'm sure

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Speaker 2: that there could be some kind of national pool that

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Speaker 2: could be utilized of NIKU trained nurses that could be

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Speaker 2: pulled in when it's needed.

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Speaker 1: That is good point.

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Speaker 2: It's got to be something that's really much more dynamically

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Speaker 2: thought about than individual employment through NTG.

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Speaker 1: That is a really really good point.

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Speaker 2: Lee.

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Speaker 3: I'm going to have to run. We've got to get

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Speaker 3: to the national news. Thank you for having a chat

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Speaker 3: with us. I'll see you again in spotlight maybe sometimes

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Speaker 3: so thank you.

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Speaker 1: See