Question Time

Whyalla Birthing Services

Ms PRATT (Frome) (14:44): My question is to the Premier. Does the Premier stand by his comments made on ABC radio on 28 February regarding the Whyalla birthing service? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Ms PRATT: On ABC radio the Premier said, and I quote:

Let's talk about the Whyalla birthing service. It's a disgrace that it's been lost and it's been lost because there hasn't been a sustained effort in workforce development to be able to keep that service operating in a way that is safe. Normally, when we lose a birthing service in a regional community, once it goes it never comes back and we are doing everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:44): I thank the member for Frome for her question. I certainly agree with what the Premier said on the radio that this is extremely concerning and we have been clear about that from the beginning when this was announced by the Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network. The government is absolutely determined to make sure that this service is back up and running as soon as possible.

That's why immediately we commissioned an independent review into this matter. We brought in an experienced midwife, Ms Peta Fisher, from Western Australia to conduct an independent review. She delivered a report to us that set out very clearly and outlined the reduction in the midwifery workforce at Whyalla that had gone down and down over many years and had led to those services being halted.

Now those services are having to be rebuilt. We have accepted all the recommendations of that report on how to reimplement those services. A number of those have already been implemented. We have brought on a new midwifery leader at the hospital who started in December last year, Ms Charlotte Groves, who started as the Director of Midwifery for Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network. She previously worked at the Women's and Children's Hospital and has extensive experience. She is now implementing the recommendations to make sure that we can get up to the FTE we need for those services to be put back in place.

I recently met with the board, the board chair and the CEO of Flinders and Upper North and reiterated again the government's strong commitment to making sure that these are returned as soon as possible. There's update in terms of a number of other steps that have been taken, including the renovation works to make sure that birthing services can move from what has been a very old part of the Whyalla Hospital to the very new part of the hospital that was opened within the past decade or so. That was one of the recommendations.

In addition to that, we have also brought on an additional senior staff member, a new permanent midwifery unit manager and educator who, I understand, started a few weeks ago. They have been working in terms of international, interstate and local recruitment to that service as well. There are a number of international and interstate midwives they are working with to recruit to that service. We continue to make sure that we are absolutely committed to getting that back up and running as soon as possible.

I think it is fair to say, as the Premier said in his radio comments, that when we see a number of these services right around the country get to the point of being suspended, often they never come back. That's what we have seen certainly in the previous government. It's what happened in the Waikerie service, which was suspended and never came back. What we did see, which was different, was on Kangaroo Island where those services were suspended.

I know this is something the member for Mawson is extremely passionate about. We put a significant amount of effort, similar to what we are doing in relation to Whyalla, to get those services back up and running and we were successful in getting those services back up and running and providing birthing back on Kangaroo Island, which obviously, through its remoteness as an island, faces significant challenges in terms of access to the mainland.

Ms Pratt interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Frome!

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: So the government remains committed to doing in Whyalla what we have done in relation to Kangaroo Island. There is progress being made but there is still more that needs to be done.

Ms Pratt interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!