Rural hospital to scrap maternity services
Posted
There has been an angry reaction over a move to scrap maternity services at a small hospital on New South Wales' far south coast.
The long-awaited independent report into hospital maternity services in the Bega Valley is recommending the establishment of just one birthing centre in the shire.
Obstetrics are currently rotated week-about between Pambula and Bega Hospitals.
But a review conducted last May by the state's former chief health officer, Dr Sue Morey, has found that a single delivery service at Bega would provide a more sustainable and better quality service for mothers and babies.
Ken Barnett from the health service says the move will allow obstetrics at Bega to be improved.
"It will help us provide a safe and sustainable service into the future. It will allow us to improve the quality of service that we provide," he said.
But Pambula GP obstetrician, Dr Rob Morton, says the move will fail because doctors will not have time to travel the 45 kilometres to Bega.
"The GP obstetricians from the southern part of the shire, the four of us down here, will not be able to supply obstetric services to the Bega Hospital," he said.
"We are mainly general practitioners. We have patients who have been booked in for four weeks to see us in our rooms and if we are on call for obstetrics, we suddenly have to say they all have to go home and come back another day."
Dr Morton says the health service will not be able to sustain the number of obstetric, midwifery and neonatal staff recommended in the review.
Mr Barnett says the decision will provide certainty for expectant parents.
He says antenatal and postnatal care will still be available to mothers and babies at Pambula Hospital after obstetric services move to Bega Hospital.
