Weipa obstetric service great news

The announcement that obstetric services will commence in Weipa next month is great news for families in the Cape York region.

“We have been calling for practical actions like this to help solve the maternity crisis in our regional, rural and remote areas,” AMA Queensland President Dr Maria Boulton said.

“We have seen far too many maternity units close or go on bypass in recent years, so it is great news to hear that a new one will open, giving families the option to deliver their babies safely close to home.

“This unit will be under the experienced guidance of Dr John Hall, a Rural Generalist in Obstetrics. Dr Hall was my supervisor many years ago in Central Queensland and is truly passionate about rural medicine.

“This is an example of working with Rural Generalists and GP Obstetricians to provide the best care in our regions.

“We advocated for the Queensland Government to invest in supporting GPs to upskill and the Government has come to the party with funding for 50 GPs to train as GP Obstetricians and GP Anaesthetists.

“In future years this should help alleviate some workforce shortages in regional and remote Queensland.

“However, we need more support and workforce incentives to attract and retain GPs, other specialists, nurses, midwives and healthcare professionals to our regions so all Queenslanders get the quality healthcare they deserve.”