Ashton Hurn MP
STATE LIBERAL LEADER

Jack Batty MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Tuesday 28 April 2026

Mother forced to switch hospitals while in labour

A young mother is calling for action to fix South Australia’s regional health staffing crisis, after she was turned away from her hospital during a complicated labour.

Lauren Barker, who lives in Freeling, had planned to deliver her child at Gawler Health Service, where she’d attended regular appointments throughout her pregnancy.  

However, when her waters broke on the evening of July 2 last year, it became clear that her birthing plan would be thrown out the window.

“When I called my midwife to let her know I was in labour, she told me the Gawler Health Service was ‘on divert’ and they’d need to find me somewhere else to go,” Miss Barker said.

“I was immediately told the Lyell McEwin Hospital was at capacity, so the midwife said she’d need to call back with other options. This was terrifying because I had meconium in my waters, which can be a sign of foetal stress.

“Around 20 minutes later, I was told to go to the Kapunda Hospital, which I didn’t even know provided birthing services and is a half-hour drive away. There was only one midwife at Kapunda, but she was amazing and extended her shift to make sure my baby was delivered safely via an emergency caesarean.

“Baby Laikyn now has a range of serious health problems, and I can’t help but wonder they’re linked to the delays and stress caused by the last-minute change of plans.”

State Liberal Leader Ashton Hurn said too many regional patients have been forced to play “musical chairs” when seeking medical treatment because of staff shortages.  

“Until we can start enticing doctors to these areas, we will continue to hear more stories like the one Lauren has shared today,” Mrs Hurn said.

“The staff we have in our smaller hospitals are brilliant but there simply isn’t enough of them – and one way to get on top of it is by implementing better incentives for doctors to work in regional areas.

“We’ve put forward a series of commonsense actions to boost our healthcare workforce, including incentives to attract more GPs to South Australia and scholarships to train the next generation of nurses and midwives.

Mrs Hurn said workforce challenges are also impacting the Angaston and District Hospital, where there are no GPs available between 8am on Tuesday until 8am on Friday each week.  

“To see this happening in my own local community is deeply upsetting, and if this was happening in our city hospitals the government would spring to action,” she said.

Shadow Minister for Health and Wellbeing Jack Batty said Lauren’s ordeal happened 10 months ago and still nothing has been done to rectify the problems.

“Right now, we have the same situation, but in reverse - the Kapunda Hospital is diverting pregnant mothers to the Gawler Health Service because it doesn’t have enough staff,” Mr Batty said.

“This has already forced at least six women to have their babies elsewhere and the closure is going to continue until May 25.  

“These disruptions are causing real distress for families at what should be one of the special moments of their lives and the Labor State Government is sitting on its hands.” 

Media Contact: Ben Avery 0439 955 254