❓ Ms. Beard questions the Minister for Health about the temporary suspension of birthing services at Carnarvon Hospital and seeks a timeline for their resumption. The Minister confirms the temporary nature of the suspension and outlines challenges in restoring services, while emphasizing efforts to find a sustainable solution.
AnsweredQoN 815Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MATERNITY SERVICES — CARNARVON
815. Ms M. BEARD to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the temporary reduction
of birthing services at Carnarvon hospital that commenced on 21 February 2022 and is ongoing. Can the minister confirm that the
suspension of services is temporary and advise what the time line is for a return
to normal operations so that mothers in the Gascoyne can safely deliver their
babies in a local hospital?
815. Ms M. BEARD to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the temporary reduction
of birthing services at Carnarvon hospital that commenced on 21 February 2022 and is ongoing. Can the minister confirm that the
suspension of services is temporary and advise what the time line is for a return
to normal operations so that mothers in the Gascoyne can safely deliver their
babies in a local hospital?
AnswerView source ↗
I can confirm that it is a temporary
suspension of those services. We are still providing antenatal services out of
Carnarvon hospital so that women can attend their pre-birth and post-birth
appointments locally. There is a great challenge with providing for onsite
birthing services in some regional communities. One of the perverse outcomes of
introducing a group midwifery practice is that it actually reduces the number
of births that a general practitioner obstetrician is able to attend and,
therefore, makes it harder to attract a GP obstetrician and vice versa. It is a
very challenging act. We are working
intensively with the WA Country Health Service to work through what a sustainable model looks like to allow women to birth
locally. I am a huge advocate and supporter of women being able to birth in
the manner that they choose, in a safe way and locally. We are certainly
working to do that. It is a great inconvenience and a challenge for women to
travel to Geraldton or Perth for their birth, and WACHS is certainly doing
everything it can to make sure that they have all their expenses, above and
beyond the patient assisted travel scheme
payment, reimbursed. I reiterate again that this is a temporary scale down and
we are working with WACHS to ensure that we can scale up again.
suspension of those services. We are still providing antenatal services out of
Carnarvon hospital so that women can attend their pre-birth and post-birth
appointments locally. There is a great challenge with providing for onsite
birthing services in some regional communities. One of the perverse outcomes of
introducing a group midwifery practice is that it actually reduces the number
of births that a general practitioner obstetrician is able to attend and,
therefore, makes it harder to attract a GP obstetrician and vice versa. It is a
very challenging act. We are working
intensively with the WA Country Health Service to work through what a sustainable model looks like to allow women to birth
locally. I am a huge advocate and supporter of women being able to birth in
the manner that they choose, in a safe way and locally. We are certainly
working to do that. It is a great inconvenience and a challenge for women to
travel to Geraldton or Perth for their birth, and WACHS is certainly doing
everything it can to make sure that they have all their expenses, above and
beyond the patient assisted travel scheme
payment, reimbursed. I reiterate again that this is a temporary scale down and
we are working with WACHS to ensure that we can scale up again.
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