Epworth confirms maternity service will close

THE doors will come down at the Epworth Geelong maternity service in a little under two months, with Epworth HealthCare confirming this morning (Thursday, February 2) it would go ahead with its proposed closure.

The decision, initially flagged by the private hospital group in November, will come into effect at midnight on March 31 and will immediately affect about 100 women booked to have their baby at Epworth Geelong who are due to give birth after this date.

Epworth says it has begun calling all women booked after the initial proposed closure date of March 1 to support and assist them and their obstetricians and has already sent them all an SMS.

EpworthHealthCare group interim chief executive Cameron Fuller said he acknowledged the decision to close the Epworth Geelong Maternity service would be difficult for many people.

“We appreciate this will be a very upsetting and difficult day for many of our patients, staff, doctors and the community.

“Epworth Geelong Maternity does not have a sustainable workforce to support a safe and sustainable service.

“Both Barwon Health and St John of God have publicly stated they have capacity to accommodate any additional births that were previously planned at Epworth Geelong. We will work with everyone impacted and their obstetrician to ensure a plan is in place.”

He said feedback provided during the consultation period – which included more than 130 meetings and consulation sessions – was carefully considered.

“We thank everyone who provided feedback and suggestions during the consultation period including patients, staff, obstetricians, paediatricians, GPs and the local community. We have considered many proposals and assessed a number of possible scenarios.

“Throughout 2022, Epworth initiated ongoing local and overseas recruitment campaigns to address maternity workforce shortages, however Epworth Geelong Maternity currently has a shortage of midwives available to cover the 24/7 roster. This includes a shortage of midwives available for night shift and to work in the birth suite. This is a current issue and predicted to continue in the medium and longer term.

“At this time, we have 14 vacant full time equivalent roles across our maternity service. That is a 44 per cent vacancy rate. We would like to acknowledge and thank our existing Epworth Geelong midwifery staff who have reached out during this time to express interest in increasing their hours or moving to our permanent roster. Even with these potential additions, we would still have a 35 per cent vacancy.”

He said the availability of a consistent paediatric medical specialist workforce in regional areas remained challenging, and Epworth Geelong had experienced this for some time at Epworth Geelong.

“While specialist services can use locums to fill short-term gaps, Epworth Geelong is experiencing continued challenges in this paediatric space. At this stage, we have gaps in shift cover and filling these shifts is a significant daily challenge.”

Mr. Fuller said he recognised the dedication of the Epworth Geelong Maternity staff, obstetricians and paediatricians.

“We want to thank the dedicated midwives, obstetricians, and specialist teams at Epworth Geelong Maternity who have contributed to the care of our patients since the commencement of our maternity service. We are very grateful for their professionalism and commitment to Epworth and our patients during this difficult period.

“We will continue to support our patients, staff and doctors.”

Epworth has established a dedicated Epworth Geelong Maternity Concierge for booked maternity patients, who can phone 03 9426 0622 (Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm) or email [email protected]