Leading experts breaking barriers for women’s health

• Queensland Health’s Women’s Health Workforce Forum today focused on workforce challenges impacting the delivery of women’s health services, particularly in regional, rural, and remote parts of Queensland.
• The forum provided a strong foundation for further work to be progressed to address workforce challenges and to deliver maternity and birthing services that prioritise the interests, needs and expectations of women.

Clinical and workforce experts from all over Queensland gathered in Brisbane today to tackle complex issues affecting the delivery of women’s health care across the state.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath joined Queensland Health Director-General Shaun Drummond to convene the Women’s Health Workforce Forum.

The forum assembled a range of key stakeholders, including general practitioners, midwives, obstetricians and gynaecologists, as well as industry groups, consumers, unions, private providers and universities.

The event was an opportunity to explore strategies to secure the healthcare workforce needed to meet the current and future workforce needs of rural and remote communities in Queensland, and to build the workforce pipeline required to continue delivering safe and sustainable women’s health services.

The forum acknowledged the need for a multipronged approach across several clinical areas to ensure women-centred care remained at the forefront of all birthing and maternity services.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath:

”Today’s forum was a really important gathering of Queensland’s leading experts in women’s health to find solutions to the challenges currently being faced by the state’s maternity and birthing services.

“Everyone at today’s forum is passionately committed to the management and sustainability of neonatal, maternity, birthing, and gynecology services.

“The forum also looked at rotational support models, clinical skills development, and workforce shortages, including how we lead the attraction, selection, and retention of the right people to create a sustainable, diverse, and engaged workforce.

“There were no barriers today – just honest and robust conversations about complex and challenging matters, and how we can all work together to navigate the best way forward for all Queenslanders.”

ENDS

Media contact: Lucy Collier - 0409 461 324