❓ Ms. Beard questions the Premier about the lack of maternity services in regional hospitals like Carnarvon. The Premier acknowledges the issue, citing workforce shortages, and highlights government support for travel costs and efforts to reinstate services and expand midwifery practices.
AnsweredQoN 104Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MATERNITY SERVICES —
REGIONS
104. Ms M. BEARD to the Premier:
I
refer to the Cook government's inability to provide any maternity
services at regional hospitals such as Carnarvon Health Campus and the
litany of excuses provided in an attempt to justify this position.
(1) Will the Premier provide a firm commitment to
affected communities that these services will be reinstated?
(2) In the interim,
will he increase patient assisted travel scheme payments so mothers caught in
this situation, through no fault of their own, are not out of pocket for
expenses?
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Premier,
I confirm that this is the last question.
REGIONS
104. Ms M. BEARD to the Premier:
I
refer to the Cook government's inability to provide any maternity
services at regional hospitals such as Carnarvon Health Campus and the
litany of excuses provided in an attempt to justify this position.
(1) Will the Premier provide a firm commitment to
affected communities that these services will be reinstated?
(2) In the interim,
will he increase patient assisted travel scheme payments so mothers caught in
this situation, through no fault of their own, are not out of pocket for
expenses?
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Premier,
I confirm that this is the last question.
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for the question. It allows me an opportunity to correct the
record that was somewhat distorted by the media earlier today. It is true that
Carnarvon ceased birthing services in February 2022 due to workforce shortages,
and antenatal and postnatal services continued to be offered in Carnarvon. I might
add that I was rather proud of the work that we did to upgrade not only the
hospital, but also the aged-care facility at
Carnarvon thanks to great investments by the McGowan and Cook Labor governments .
The WA government and the WA Country Health Service are doing everything they
can to return birthing services to Carnarvon.
Carnarvon women who need to travel to
Geraldton or Perth to have their babies have their travel and accommodation
costs completely met by government—that is, they do not access those
services via the patient assisted travel
scheme; the costs are completely met by the government. This situation is
temporary and a direct result of workforce pressures. Attracting and
maintaining residential staff in regional areas has always been difficult despite competitive salaries and generous
incentives. To combat these challenges , the WA Country Health Service has a range of strategies in place,
including staff deployment, partnerships and a rapid deployment pool.
The WA Country Health Service
acknowledges that offering maternal services in the country is a fundamental
part of meeting the physical and social needs of expectant mothers. That is why
the state government has expanded services. We have more than doubled the
number of midwifery group practices across the state, introducing new midwifery
group practices in Carnarvon, Manjimup, Bridgetown, Northam, the Fiona Stanley
Hospital family birthing centre, Collie, and, more recently, Margaret River.
These build upon our existing network of midwifery group practices in Bunbury,
Narrogin, Armadale, Broome and the family birthing centre at King Edward
Memorial Hospital for Women. Of course, we are delivering the new women's
and babies' hospital at the Fiona Stanley precinct at Murdoch, meaning
that country women coming via the Royal Flying Doctor Service will have quicker
access to lifesaving care should they need it.
Our absolute commitment is to make
sure that we can get as many people travelling as little as possible to receive
healthcare services right across the state. When it comes to maternity
services, I think it is even more important that we can create those services
within a regional hospital setting. But the fact of the matter remains that
safety is our highest priority when it comes to women giving birth. As a result,
when necessary, we need to transfer them to Perth, particularly when they
cannot access obstetric services. We just will not compromise on patient
safety, and we will not compromise women's safety in that situation.
Therefore, it is sometimes necessary for women to travel to the city or a larger
hospital setting, such as Geraldton in the case of Carnarvon. When it is
necessary, we pay for those costs.
thank the member for the question. It allows me an opportunity to correct the
record that was somewhat distorted by the media earlier today. It is true that
Carnarvon ceased birthing services in February 2022 due to workforce shortages,
and antenatal and postnatal services continued to be offered in Carnarvon. I might
add that I was rather proud of the work that we did to upgrade not only the
hospital, but also the aged-care facility at
Carnarvon thanks to great investments by the McGowan and Cook Labor governments .
The WA government and the WA Country Health Service are doing everything they
can to return birthing services to Carnarvon.
Carnarvon women who need to travel to
Geraldton or Perth to have their babies have their travel and accommodation
costs completely met by government—that is, they do not access those
services via the patient assisted travel
scheme; the costs are completely met by the government. This situation is
temporary and a direct result of workforce pressures. Attracting and
maintaining residential staff in regional areas has always been difficult despite competitive salaries and generous
incentives. To combat these challenges , the WA Country Health Service has a range of strategies in place,
including staff deployment, partnerships and a rapid deployment pool.
The WA Country Health Service
acknowledges that offering maternal services in the country is a fundamental
part of meeting the physical and social needs of expectant mothers. That is why
the state government has expanded services. We have more than doubled the
number of midwifery group practices across the state, introducing new midwifery
group practices in Carnarvon, Manjimup, Bridgetown, Northam, the Fiona Stanley
Hospital family birthing centre, Collie, and, more recently, Margaret River.
These build upon our existing network of midwifery group practices in Bunbury,
Narrogin, Armadale, Broome and the family birthing centre at King Edward
Memorial Hospital for Women. Of course, we are delivering the new women's
and babies' hospital at the Fiona Stanley precinct at Murdoch, meaning
that country women coming via the Royal Flying Doctor Service will have quicker
access to lifesaving care should they need it.
Our absolute commitment is to make
sure that we can get as many people travelling as little as possible to receive
healthcare services right across the state. When it comes to maternity
services, I think it is even more important that we can create those services
within a regional hospital setting. But the fact of the matter remains that
safety is our highest priority when it comes to women giving birth. As a result,
when necessary, we need to transfer them to Perth, particularly when they
cannot access obstetric services. We just will not compromise on patient
safety, and we will not compromise women's safety in that situation.
Therefore, it is sometimes necessary for women to travel to the city or a larger
hospital setting, such as Geraldton in the case of Carnarvon. When it is
necessary, we pay for those costs.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.