Decision not yet finalised on Epworth maternity service

THE proposed closure of the maternity service at Epworth Geelong is less than a month away, but the private health group in charge says it has not yet made a final decision about whether it will do so.

Epworth HealthCare has also again rejected suggestions the rationale for closing the maternity service are anything other than related to a lack of staff.

The private health group announced in November it anticipated the maternity service would close on March 1 as a result of “continued workforce shortages across the maternity healthcare team”, but this would be preceded by consultation with affected staff, unions and doctors.

The proposal drew immediate public backlash and the Save Epworth Geelong Maternity Group, which now has more than 14,000 signatures on a petition to keep the maternity service open, claimed earlier this year that a final decision on the closure would be made on Monday this week.

On Wednesday this week, Epworth Geelong executive general manager Leonie Lloyd said the consultation process finished on January 27, but Epworth HealthCare would take up to 14 days to consider the feedback and announce its decision.

“Currently, we have 14 vacant full-time equivalent roles across our maternity service. That is a 44 per cent vacancy rate, despite recruitment campaigns in Australia and overseas throughout 2022.

“There is also an ongoing shortage of regional paediatricians to support the maternity service. At this stage, we have gaps in shift cover and filling these shifts is a significant daily challenge.”

Victorian Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson has also been critical of Epworth HealthCare’s proposal in recent weeks, making several public statements and requesting on January 22 that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) investigate the private health group “for engaging in what appears to be misleading or deceptive conduct” about its consultation.

An Epworth HealthCare spokesperson said last week that the organisation “has been, and remains, transparent about the reason behind the proposed closure of the Epworth Geelong Maternity service”.

“Since the announcement of the proposal, Epworth has engaged with Senator Henderson through email, phone calls and a detailed in-person briefing earlier this week, reinforcing the proposal is driven by continued workforce shortages.

“Epworth must be confident that we can provide a high-quality maternity service that is safe and sustainable into the future.

“Epworth strongly refutes the statements made by Senator Henderson.”

Senator Henderson lodged a second letter to the ACCC on Tuesday this week, stating the consumer watchdog investigate Epworth HealthCare about job ads for the Epworth Geelong maternity service.

“I have received a large amount of information that Epworth HealthCare, intent on closing its Geelong maternity service, is not making genuine efforts to resolve its workforce issues including recruiting and retaining staff,” Senator Henderson wrote

The Epworth HealthCare spokesperson said the organisation “strongly refutes these allegations”.