Northwest maternity services must be taken back by the state government now

AMA Tasmania President Dr John Saul said that the AMA had long held concerns about the maternity service in the Northwest.  

“The problems with maternity services at the NWPH have been occurring for years, with the first review back in 2017.  

“AMA Tasmania welcomed the recommendation from the 2020 state government review of maternity services to recommence public maternity services within the NWRH.  

“The problem is that the transition to the public hospital is far too slow, with current plans seeing the service not transfer until November 2024. It should be happening right now.  

“We raised our concerns in September of last year in writing with the Premier and later in person, but no change has occurred. The services are now at a critical level.  

“Midwives are naturally leaving the private maternity services due to retirement or lack of certainty of employment in the future, recruiting new ones is proving difficult for the private hospital. Additionally, several O&G doctors have or are about to leave the system.  

“Those hardworking doctors and midwives left in the team are now being expected to carry too big a workload to be able to provide a safe service. I want to be clear - we are not reflecting on individuals working on the maternity ward but on a broken system.  

“The private hospital has had to go on bypass four times since December and should have gone on bypass on other occasions because of lack of staff to support the service. This could not happen because the LGH (Launceston General Hospital) was already overloaded with maternity patients.  

“Women in the Northwest who are in labour should not have to be turned away from the front door in Burnie and told to go to the Launceston General Hospital or the Royal Hobart Hospital to give birth.  

“For some women in labour, it is too late to go to another hospital, and they have to give birth no matter what, adding stress and fear at a time in their lives that is supposed to be the most rewarding.  

“With the resources of doctors and nurses stretched, it means they are not receiving the optimal care they should be getting, regardless of how hard the doctors and nurses try.  

“The AMA is concerned by the number of complaints from women in the Northwest about the service they received while birthing over the past twelve months, with those complaints increasing in recent times.  

“We are very alarmed that if the state government does not act immediately, mothers and their babies will continue to be at risk.  

“While there is a contract in place for the private hospital to provide public services, they must be safe. The fact that our doctors no longer believe in the safety of those services means the hospital must be in breach of its contract, and the government should withdraw services from the private hospital.  

“We are aware of obstetric doctors who are feeling vulnerable and worried for their patients. With their confidence eroded in the private maternity services.  

“We cannot afford to wait until November 2024 for the transition team to complete its work before public maternity services are taken back into public hands.  

“This is a medical emergency, and action must occur now.” >>>ENDS