❓ Member of Parliament requests information on maternity services in regional WA, including staffing vacancies and efforts to reopen the Katanning Hospital maternity ward. The Minister provides an overview and refers to a tabled paper.
AnsweredQoN 264Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Can the Minister list the hospital maternity services that are available in the following country regions: (a) Goldfields; (b) Great Southern; (c) Kimberley; (d) Midwest; (e) Pilbara; (f) South West; and (g) Wheatbelt? (2) For the above maternity services, can the Minister list any current staff vacancies, how long the position has been vacant for and what action has been taken to address the vacancy? (3) Since the maternity ward at Katanning Hospital was closed in May 2012, what action has been taken to address staffing issues and re-open it?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
25 June 2013
Responded by
Minister for Health
Response time
34 days
(1) - (2) Obstetric and neonatal services are planned through the
WA Health Clinical
Service Framework (CSF) 2010 - 2020
. The CSF provides the framework that guides what level of service is available at each site.
[See tabled paper no] for an overview of obstetric services across the regions and current vacancies.
(3) The following actions have been taken to address staffing issues since the closure of the Katanning Hospital maternity ward in May 2012:
- Katanning Hospital midwifery staffing of 3.3 FTE remains sufficient to provide comprehensive antenatal and postnatal care for women who choose to have this care closer to home, including a home visiting midwifery service and shared care with the local General Practitioner (GP).
- Katanning midwives are accessing clinical placements at Albany Hospital to maintain currency with birthing practices. These placements are for 2-3 weeks. There are 6 permanently employed midwives and 3 casual midwives on staff, and all are participating in an intra-partum up-skilling program at Albany Hospital. The midwives are also accessing relevant staff development opportunities such as neonatal resuscitation and obstetric emergencies through Princess Margaret and King Edward Hospitals.
- Katanning is supported by a regular visiting specialist obstetrician/gynaecologist service from Albany, providing outpatient services on referral from local GPs.
- An ongoing national and international medical recruitment program by WA Country Health Service (WACHS), Rural Health West and the Department of Health's International Recruitment Bureau is in place to attract more GPs to country Western Australia (WA), particularly those with procedural skills such as obstetrics and anaesthetics. The aim is to increase the number of GPs practicing in country WA, particularly in areas such as Katanning.
- As part of this process, two new GPs have commenced in the Katanning area in 2013 but neither of these GPs meet the credentialing requirements to practice obstetrics or anaesthetics.
- While WACHS is not responsible for directly recruiting these private practice GPs, it does provide contracted financial and collegial support to Rural Health West, one of the key clinical recruitment agencies in WA, specialising in rural and remote placement recruitment.
- Under the Southern Inland Health Initiative (SIHI), WACHS offers generous incentive packages for GPs, with the appropriate credentials, to join the Katanning Hospital Emergency Department and the procedural (obstetrics and anaesthetics) rosters.
WA Health Clinical
Service Framework (CSF) 2010 - 2020
. The CSF provides the framework that guides what level of service is available at each site.
[See tabled paper no] for an overview of obstetric services across the regions and current vacancies.
(3) The following actions have been taken to address staffing issues since the closure of the Katanning Hospital maternity ward in May 2012:
- Katanning Hospital midwifery staffing of 3.3 FTE remains sufficient to provide comprehensive antenatal and postnatal care for women who choose to have this care closer to home, including a home visiting midwifery service and shared care with the local General Practitioner (GP).
- Katanning midwives are accessing clinical placements at Albany Hospital to maintain currency with birthing practices. These placements are for 2-3 weeks. There are 6 permanently employed midwives and 3 casual midwives on staff, and all are participating in an intra-partum up-skilling program at Albany Hospital. The midwives are also accessing relevant staff development opportunities such as neonatal resuscitation and obstetric emergencies through Princess Margaret and King Edward Hospitals.
- Katanning is supported by a regular visiting specialist obstetrician/gynaecologist service from Albany, providing outpatient services on referral from local GPs.
- An ongoing national and international medical recruitment program by WA Country Health Service (WACHS), Rural Health West and the Department of Health's International Recruitment Bureau is in place to attract more GPs to country Western Australia (WA), particularly those with procedural skills such as obstetrics and anaesthetics. The aim is to increase the number of GPs practicing in country WA, particularly in areas such as Katanning.
- As part of this process, two new GPs have commenced in the Katanning area in 2013 but neither of these GPs meet the credentialing requirements to practice obstetrics or anaesthetics.
- While WACHS is not responsible for directly recruiting these private practice GPs, it does provide contracted financial and collegial support to Rural Health West, one of the key clinical recruitment agencies in WA, specialising in rural and remote placement recruitment.
- Under the Southern Inland Health Initiative (SIHI), WACHS offers generous incentive packages for GPs, with the appropriate credentials, to join the Katanning Hospital Emergency Department and the procedural (obstetrics and anaesthetics) rosters.
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