MATERNITY SERVICES — GERALDTON
761. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the suspension of
midwifery services at St John of God hospital in Geraldton and the subsequent
pressures upon the already beleaguered Geraldton Health Campus, and to the
minister's refusal to support a training program through the Geraldton
Universities Centre to deliver midwifery training in the midwest.
(1) Why did the
minister not take the opportunity to invest in local training before the
situation reached such a crisis point?
(2) What is the
minister's plan to deliver world-class obstetric and maternity services
to Geraldton families during the suspension of services?
Mr R.H. COOK replied:
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for the question. Obviously, I have no control over what
people do at St John of God hospital in
Geraldton. It is a private hospital and it is the owner of its own destiny. I very
much look forward to a point in time, in the not-too-distant future,
when it can resume maternity services, because I want the people of Geraldton
to have that choice. I think that is important feature of our health system. I can
assure all the expecting mothers and fathers of Geraldton that we will continue
to support the people of Geraldton by making sure that we have maternity
services at Geraldton Health Campus.
The
member raised the question of maternity services at the Geraldton Universities
Centre. I was supportive of the idea of the centre having more access to
maternity training. However, in order for somebody to train in maternity or
midwifery, they need to have access to a large volume of episodes of care to
get the experience that they need to be trained properly. Unfortunately, we
could not provide that at Geraldton, and that is regrettable, because that
would mean that those students would have to travel to Perth, ideally to a place
like King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women, in order to get the opportunities
that they wish. This is something that I have spoken with the department about
on a number of occasions. We are within the constraints of the Australian
College of Midwives and other colleges in relation to the training
requirements. It has nothing to do with the government's commitment or
otherwise; it is simply the reality of the context in which people are
training. We will continue to support the Geraldton community by making sure
that we have great maternity services.
I would also like to place on the
record that I understand that there was a report earlier that alleged that we
are refusing to induct patients at Hedland Health Campus because of the
workforce constraints that we are working under at the moment. I have an
assurance from the WA Country Health Service that that is not correct.
The SPEAKER: Induce rather
than induct, I think, minister!