South Coast health professionals are fired up over proposed cuts to beds in the maternity, pediatric and oncology wards in the new Eurobodalla Regional hospital which would directly impact clinical services in the region.
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A revised Clinical Services Plan released by the Southern NSW Local Health District showed the existing seven beds in the Eurobodalla Maternity Service was proposed to reduce to three beds, while the pediatric beds would be reduced from six to four.
Eurobodalla specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Michael Holland said the proposal would not enable the hospital to operate at level four services and would impact residents in the Eurobodalla region as well as Milton, Ulladulla and Bega.
"We can't remain quiet any longer," he said.
"The services in the new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital will affect the whole of the South Coast, with 20 per cent of my patients currently coming from Bega.
"And since maternity services in Milton Hospital closed in 2016 an increasing number of women travel to the Eurobodalla for birthing services."
In 2017, Dr Holland and other members of the One New Eurobodalla hospital advocacy group launched a petition to the Minister for Health Brad Hazzard and received more than 3000 signatures in three weeks.
The petition called for the Eurobodalla Regional Hospital to have services equal to those in Bega and Goulburn at a site with equitable access to residents in Eurobodalla and beyond.
It also called for immediate improvements to the accident and emergency and critical care services proposed for the new hospital.
"So we've now got the right site for the Eurobodalla and we've got $200 million in funding to build the new hospital, but it's clearly not enough because they've still got to cut beds," Dr Holland said.
"Critical care is the crux of the issue because what we've got at the moment is an empty shell not equipped and not staffed to open an intensive care unit needed to make it a level four emergency service."
Dr Holland said he and other health professionals were concerned promises for the level four service may not be kept.
"We are concerned about an open-ended commitment to a level four service which may not come in until 2031," he said.
"We are constantly told we will have a level four service, but then there is none of the action to make that happen."
The Moruya District Hospital currently operates as a level three service and Dr Holland said that would not change unless recruitment for level four services started.
"We've already lost specialists because we don't have the facilities in the Eurobodalla - that's highly trained professionals who can do complex procedures, but can't do them here because we don't have the infrastructure here," he said.
"They've got to start recruiting for people now. Specialists, doctors, nurses and midwives don't just fall out the trees and to find them we need to have the facilities and the infrastructure to allow them to do their work.
"We also have great doctors and midwives here already who deserve better, and who are going above and beyond to deliver services for people without having the infrastructure they need for those services."
I'm a journalist for the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner and Narooma News. Got a tip? Email maeve.bannister@austcommunitymedia.com.au
I'm a journalist for the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner and Narooma News. Got a tip? Email maeve.bannister@austcommunitymedia.com.au
