❓ Mr Johnston asks about improvements to maternity services in WA, particularly in Cannington. The Premier details investments in midwifery services, including a new birth centre at Bentley Hospital, and highlights other upgrades to maternity facilities across the state.
AnsweredQoN 37Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MATERNITY
SERVICES
37. Mr W.J. JOHNSTON to the Premier:
I refer to the Cook Labor
government's strengthening of our health system by investing in
hospitals and increasing our health workforce, delivering the best health care
for all Western Australians.
(1) Can the Premier
outline to the house how this government is improving birth and maternity
services in Western Australia, including in my electorate of Cannington?
(2) Can the
Premier outline to the house how these investments offer greater choice for
women and families expecting a child?
(3) Can the
Premier confirm that this is another demonstration that he will always do what
is right for Western Australia?
SERVICES
37. Mr W.J. JOHNSTON to the Premier:
I refer to the Cook Labor
government's strengthening of our health system by investing in
hospitals and increasing our health workforce, delivering the best health care
for all Western Australians.
(1) Can the Premier
outline to the house how this government is improving birth and maternity
services in Western Australia, including in my electorate of Cannington?
(2) Can the
Premier outline to the house how these investments offer greater choice for
women and families expecting a child?
(3) Can the
Premier confirm that this is another demonstration that he will always do what
is right for Western Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
member for Cannington for his question.
(1)–(3) Thirty-two
thousand Western Australians entered the world last year and roughly double
that number entered the new world of parenthood and the challenges that come
with it, as the member for Cannington well knows—oh, so many
challenges! I was delighted to join the member for Cannington and the member
for Victoria Park, along with our great Minister for Health just this morning
to usher in construction of the new midwifery birth centre at Bentley Hospital.
The centre will be the first of its kind in WA. It will be the first public health service in our state to offer a contemporary
midwife-led maternity service. I would love to say that the last
Minister for Health achieved this goal, but I am delighted that the current
Minister for Health has actually got there. This has been a long-term challenge—that
is, how we provide midwifery services to women in the public sector so they can
have that continuity of care right through the journey of the birth and
continue to make sure that they have that service as they go through their journey.
We are delighted to see the endorsed midwife category is now in place to usher
in this new era for maternity services. I was proud to stand alongside Carli
Beange, the first publicly employed endorsed midwife in Western Australia.
Specialists like Carli are highly skilled and they do incredible work
supporting women through every step of their
pregnancy. She will soon join eight other endorsed midwives and the midwifery management team in caring for women in the east metropolitan service area.
It is now well established that this
model of care can enhance a woman's experience in child rearing. It is
beneficial to mums and babies, both during pregnancy and postpartum. From a government
perspective, this is about responding to feedback from the community. We have
listened and responded to that feedback that women want more options when it
comes to birthing.
This model of care responds to our
overarching goal of enabling women-centred care and positive birth experiences.
We want to provide choice and stability for women during this exciting stage of
their lives.
The new birth centre at Bentley
Hospital will include birthing pools, antenatal assessment rooms, a family
room, birth suites and a midwives' hub with networking capability to
share live birth data with other sites across the East Metropolitan Health
Service area. The WA Labor government will spend $2.6 million to design, build
and fit-out the clinic, which will open around July this year. We are
absolutely looking forward to that service opening.
This project is one of several
projects right around Western Australia. Our goal is to make the WA health
system one of the best in the world that continues to provide great health care
for the women of Western Australia. In the pipeline we also have the new women's
and babies' hospital at Murdoch, major upgrades to maternity facilities
at Osborne Park Hospital, including a new family birthing centre, and upgrades
to neonatal services at Perth Children's Hospital. We see this
transformative rebuild of our maternity services in the health system. I make
the observation that it seems just like yesterday, member for Cannington, that
we were at that hospital when we were opposition members campaigning against
the former Liberal–National government, which was trying to shut
maternity services at Bentley Hospital. Under the WA Labor government, they are
open, thriving and providing great choice for women in the east metropolitan
area.
member for Cannington for his question.
(1)–(3) Thirty-two
thousand Western Australians entered the world last year and roughly double
that number entered the new world of parenthood and the challenges that come
with it, as the member for Cannington well knows—oh, so many
challenges! I was delighted to join the member for Cannington and the member
for Victoria Park, along with our great Minister for Health just this morning
to usher in construction of the new midwifery birth centre at Bentley Hospital.
The centre will be the first of its kind in WA. It will be the first public health service in our state to offer a contemporary
midwife-led maternity service. I would love to say that the last
Minister for Health achieved this goal, but I am delighted that the current
Minister for Health has actually got there. This has been a long-term challenge—that
is, how we provide midwifery services to women in the public sector so they can
have that continuity of care right through the journey of the birth and
continue to make sure that they have that service as they go through their journey.
We are delighted to see the endorsed midwife category is now in place to usher
in this new era for maternity services. I was proud to stand alongside Carli
Beange, the first publicly employed endorsed midwife in Western Australia.
Specialists like Carli are highly skilled and they do incredible work
supporting women through every step of their
pregnancy. She will soon join eight other endorsed midwives and the midwifery management team in caring for women in the east metropolitan service area.
It is now well established that this
model of care can enhance a woman's experience in child rearing. It is
beneficial to mums and babies, both during pregnancy and postpartum. From a government
perspective, this is about responding to feedback from the community. We have
listened and responded to that feedback that women want more options when it
comes to birthing.
This model of care responds to our
overarching goal of enabling women-centred care and positive birth experiences.
We want to provide choice and stability for women during this exciting stage of
their lives.
The new birth centre at Bentley
Hospital will include birthing pools, antenatal assessment rooms, a family
room, birth suites and a midwives' hub with networking capability to
share live birth data with other sites across the East Metropolitan Health
Service area. The WA Labor government will spend $2.6 million to design, build
and fit-out the clinic, which will open around July this year. We are
absolutely looking forward to that service opening.
This project is one of several
projects right around Western Australia. Our goal is to make the WA health
system one of the best in the world that continues to provide great health care
for the women of Western Australia. In the pipeline we also have the new women's
and babies' hospital at Murdoch, major upgrades to maternity facilities
at Osborne Park Hospital, including a new family birthing centre, and upgrades
to neonatal services at Perth Children's Hospital. We see this
transformative rebuild of our maternity services in the health system. I make
the observation that it seems just like yesterday, member for Cannington, that
we were at that hospital when we were opposition members campaigning against
the former Liberal–National government, which was trying to shut
maternity services at Bentley Hospital. Under the WA Labor government, they are
open, thriving and providing great choice for women in the east metropolitan
area.
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