By Patrick Book

Change in care, nurse numbers eyed by NDP in baby’s death at Regina’s General Hospital

Mar 31, 2011 | 4:13 PM

A Regina mother whose daughter died in the state-of-the-art Mother Baby Care Centre at the city's General Hospital insists her baby's death could have been prevented had it not been for staffing shortages and a change in how care is delivered.

Amanda Brass explains she had been in labour for two days, but the actual birth was quick. Cambria Tammie-Leigh Shuba was born at 11:30 p.m. last Thursday, appearing healthy and weighing nearly seven pounds. She was Brass and father Mike Shuba's first child.

Within five hours, she had stopped breathing . The infant was resuscitated but declared brain dead by a neurologist, according to the family.

Brass says the infant was in bed with her five hours after birth. The baby wasn't receptive to her attempts to feed it. A nurse left the room and Brass fell asleep.

“Forty-five minutes later I awoke to a nurse screaming, 'She's not breathing, she's not breathing,'” Brass sobbed during a statement to reporters at the provincial Legislature Thursday morning. She admits she can't be sure whether or not she inadvertently smothered the child.

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According to Diane Larrivee, the Regina Qu'appelle Health Region's (RQHR) vice-president of special care, the province began moving to an in-room post-birth process several years ago after Health Canada adopted the policy, which is based on the belief that having the mother and baby in constant contact and cared for by staff as a pair would help with bonding. Bassinets, recliners, and beds are all provided in private rooms so that family can be present continuously after birth. Under the previous model of care all newborns were kept in a large, central nursery area where they were monitored by staff. That doesn't exist in the new care model and nursing staff are assigned to two mother/baby groups; instead of occasionally bringing the babies to the mother the nurse comes to check on them frequently on a regular schedule.

Brass believes the death could have been prevented if the centre had more continuous monitoring. She believes infants would be safer if a move was made to return to the large group nursery.

“It needs to be at least 12 hour monitoring,” she stresses. “Because you never know what can happen. You never know. And no parent should have to bury their child.”

Brass also insisted that nursing staff on the ward had told her explicitly that they were, “severely short-staffed.”

The RQHR insists a critical incident investigation is being done, although that will likely take a number of months. The same goes for a coroner's report into what the exact cause of death was.

Larrivee admits there is no firm policy on whether or not newborns should be allowed to sleep in a bed with their mothers. She says there is a small five- or six-bed nursery that can house newborns if the mother isn't feeling well or can't look after them for a short time. There's also a high-observation special care nursery for babies transition out of the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit. She is adamant that no corners are being cut in the new care model and that there is no cost-savings from the switch.

Larrivee adds that there were some concerns raised by the nurses' union before the new unit was opened. Managers met with staff to identify those concerns and once independent recommendations were made they were implemented.

Health Minister Don McMorris insists there have been no shortage of nurses on staff since the centre opened last year. He also states that he hasn't heard any specific complaints from nurses about the Mother Baby Care Centre since it opened.

However, the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) insists it has raised concerns about staffing levels, access to nursery spaces, and safe practices in the new care model back in 2009 before the new centre was opened.

“We are here today because the fears of SUN have been realized,” SUN president Rosalee Longmoore stated in a news release issued late Thursday morning.

“While the philosophy of this model of care may be sound, resources to safely implement it are crucial. I think a lot of the concerns were set aside because people believed the move to the new unit would solve many of the concerns.”

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