Whyalla Birthing Services

Ms PRATT (Frome) (14:36): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. How many babies have been born at the Whyalla Hospital since June last year? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Ms PRATT: The opposition has been advised that it is now around a year since Whyalla Hospital has admitted any expectant mothers to deliver their babies.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:36): This is a very important question that I'm also happy to answer in relation to Whyalla. Clearly, the situation that eventuated in terms of Whyalla last year was that we got down to almost zero midwives being able to provide services at the hospital, which has led unfortunately to those services having to be suspended, which was something that the government was not at all happy about. It has very clearly directed the board and the executive of the Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network to put in place every possible measure to bring those services back in place.

Since then, I have commissioned an independent report into those services, which outlined why it was that those services had to be suspended and the recommendations that needed to be put in place to resume those services. All of those recommendations were accepted, and all of those recommendations are progressively being implemented.

We have now appointed Charlotte Groves, who is the Director of Midwifery for the Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network, which is a new position. We have also appointed a midwifery unit manager for Whyalla and also a number of midwives involved in that service as well.

In addition to that, we have recruited a number of midwives overseas who are on the way in terms of going through their visa processes. In addition, there are a number of nurses based in Whyalla who we are sponsoring to go through training to become midwives locally. In addition to that, we are also working with the Women's and Children's Health Network to employ people with joint commissions to work across Whyalla and the Women's and Children's Hospital to increase the midwifery staff. So in every possible element we are increasing the staff.

We have seen progress so far and we hope to see those services resumed as soon as possible in a sustainable measure, just like we have been able to achieve, as you know, sir, full well, on Kangaroo Island, where there was a suspension of those services. We put in place measures to be able to see them resumed, unlike what previously happened at Waikerie under the previous government, where they were temporarily suspended and then that was it and they were closed forever. That is what we don't want to happen when it comes to Whyalla Hospital.