Community
1 November, 2023
Mum’s red tape fight
WITH the closure of the Cairns Private Hospital maternity unit coming on November 1 and expectant mothers being transferred to the public system, a Mareeba lawyer has tabled a petition for Health Minister Shannon Fentiman to allow private obstetricians to deliver their patients’ babies at Cairns Hospital.
Lawyer Shaquille Chong has spearheaded the petition, which has over 2000 signatures, for private obstetricians Dr Anusha Lazzari and Dr Elizabeth Jackson to be allowed to perform deliveries at Cairns Hospital to ensure care continuity for mums currently in the private system.
Ms Chong said that Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service chief executive Leena Singh had rejected the proposal, so they decided to escalate it to parliament.
“Dr Lazzari and Dr Jackson have made a proposal to the public hospital to be able to birth some of their private patients in the public hospital in exchange for supporting Cairns Hospital on an on-call basis to support public deliveries as well,” she said.
“The chief executive has rejected the offer and failed to meet with Dr Lazzari and Dr Jackson to understand the proposal, so we decided to get Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Shannon Fentiman to meet with the obstetricians and listen to the pros and cons.
“It’s about giving women choice on whether they want to keep receiving private obstetrician care and once that they’re admitted to public hospital, they can bring across their private obstetrician to deliver their babies.”
Ms Singh said the public sector had the capacity to safely accommodate the new influx of expecting mothers.
“The health service currently provides 91 per cent of the birthing within the Far North and with the addition of the Ramsay Healthcare private patients, this will mean we will be providing close to 97 per cent of all births for the Far North, and this can be safely accommodated within the public sector,” she said.
“There are much wider and more complex implications to permitting private obstetricians to work within a public hospital.
“These factors include other infrastructure such as operating theatre capacity and additional staffing resources such as theatre staff and anaesthetists and pharmacists.
“There is no maternity crisis in the Far North with most women already opting for the public service for their birthing needs.”
Having accessed IVF and given birth through the private health system, Ms Chong highlighted the importance of doing as much as possible to retain health specialists in the region.
“Due to the closure of the maternity unit, we have seen a lot of specialists pack up and close their services,” she said.
“If we restrict what we have left in the community from a private perspective then obstetricians, gynaecologists, and fertility specialists could also leave if we create barriers for patients to access them.” With the petition tabled, Ms Fentiman has 30 days to respond.
