Push to keep birthing services
Mums-to-be planning private deliveries have threatened to leave the Far North and ditch private health insurance if Cairns Private Hospital decides to axe its birthing services.
Ongoing concerns that private medical giant Ramsay Health Care will not continue to offer birthing services at the Upward St facility has the sector predicting an o v e r - w h e l m e d public system, if 350 babies delivered by staff at the Upward St facility transitioned to birth at Cairns Hospital.
The public system, foreshadowing the shut down of private birthing services, announced last week it would hire extra staff and expand maternity services if it was required to do so.
Now, maternity professionals are keeping pressure on Cairns Private Hospital to retain the only private birthing service north of Townsville.
Ramsay Health, worth about $4bn, operates 73 private hospitals and day surgery units throughout Australia plus hospitals in the UK, Europe, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The company received government Covid support payments totalling $12.3m during the 2022 financial year and the Asia Pacific arm of the business recorded a slight decline (1.9 per cent) in patient revenue that totalled $5361.2m during the same period.
Hospital insiders have indicated slim profit margins at Cairns Private’s maternity unit meant the financial viability of services had been called into question.
“Incredible difficulty” in recruiting obstetricians and paediatricians, and the looming retirement of paediatrician Dr Tim Warnock expected in July are factors complicating the future of private birthing services.
The hospital has also said another obstetrician had announced she was ceasing births from July.
Hospital insiders suggested 300 babies have to be delivered each year for the company to break even.
Cairns Private Hospital chief executive officer Ben Tooth has maintained “no decision has been made” to shut down the private hospital’s maternity unit, and that the service was being reviewed “to ensure (it) can be operated safely”.
The Australian Medical Association Queensland has raised concern that 350 extra births through the public system would overwhelm the service and could lead to a crisis similar to when babies were not delivered at the Gladstone Hospital for 279 days.