Birthing to return to Weipa by 2016

Mothers-to-be on Cape York Peninsula have something new to look forward to with the return of birthing services at Weipa after an absence of nearly 20 years.
Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said the LNP Government was committed to rebuilding ante-natal and other key health services in rural and remote centres where it’s safe to do so.
“As part of this process, Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service will consult with communities in the region and birthing at Weipa will recommence by 2016,’’ Mr Springborg said.
The Health Minister was briefed in Weipa on progress toward a sustainable low-risk model of care for local mothers.
Birthing services were recently re-introduced at Cooktown, where the first babies were expected to be born early next year.
“It’s now time to turn our attention to Weipa and the needs of women and families in that region,’’ Mr Springborg said.
“It’s great news for the Western Cape and Lockhart River. Each year about 180 women travel from these regions to have their babies elsewhere.
“The Torres and Cape HHS estimates about 60 of these women will meet the low-risk criteria to be able to deliver their babies safely through the new Weipa birthing service. This means they will not need to travel outside the region to have their babies.’’
‘Low-risk’ pregnancies are those where the ante-natal period is not complex and where the mother does not have a complex medical and obstetric history. Women with higher risk pregnancies will need to continue accessing specialist care as required in Cairns or elsewhere.
“The proposed Weipa Maternity Group Practice will allow expectant mothers in Weipa, Napranum, Mapoon, Coen, Lockhart River and, to a lesser extent Aurukun,  to have the same familiar group of midwives looking after them before, during and after the birth of their child,’’ Mr Springborg said.
“It will operate to principles already established in many other regional areas including Mareeba, Beaudesert, Roma, Goondiwindi, Emerald, Stradbroke Island and Proserpine.
“Under the model, midwives work closely with doctors, using national midwifery and best practice guidelines, to ensure safe outcomes for patients.”
Mr Springborg said additional doctors, nurses, midwives and health workers will be recruited to deliver the proposed new Weipa birthing service.
Birthing services at Weipa Integrated Health Service ended in the mid-1990s, due to problems obtaining access to doctors to deliver babies via emergency caesarean section.
“Beaudesert Hospital, south of Brisbane, was the first country hospital to have birthing services returned earlier this year and Cooktown, from early 2015, will be the second,” he said.
The Government has also identified a further five potential rural services at Charters Towers, Ingham, Yarrabah, Mossman and Cloncurry.’
[ENDS] 6 November 2014

Media Contact: Cameron Thompson 0407-585230

Fast facts:

• An estimated 180 women a year from the Western Cape and Lockhart River currently travel elsewhere to have their babies, whether publically or privately.

• The Torres and Cape HHS estimates around 60 of these women would meet the low-risk criteria to be able to deliver their babies safely through the new Weipa birthing service.

• Birthing services at Weipa were scaled back progressively from the mid-1990s due to a lack of a sufficient pool of doctors with the additional clinical skills required to undertake an emergency caesarean section.

• Since then only an emergency birthing service for uncomplicated births has been available, although ante and post-natal care has always remained available.

• All Weipa and Western Cape region women now have had to go to Cairns or elsewhere at 36 weeks to have their babies.
• A safe and sustainable birthing service must have available, or on call, doctors with the appropriate skills to undertake an emergency caesarean section should the need arise.
• As specialist obstetricians and anaesthetists are not generally available in country areas, this requires generalist country doctors to have additional procedural skills in obstetrics or anaesthetics that would enable them to undertake a caesarean section safely.
• To acquire these skills generally requires up to a year’s additional training in each specialised area.