Healthscope makes call on Hobart Private Hospital maternity services

The closure of the Hobart Private Hospital’s maternity services has sparked demands to deliver for Tassie mums.

Hobart Private Hospital is set to cut maternity services. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

Private hospital operators, governments, and health insurers have been urged to stop playing the “blame game” over medical funding, after national provider Healthscope announced it would close the maternity ward at Hobart Private Hospital by late August.

The Sunday Tasmanian first reported the state government was in discussions with Healthscope over the future of Hobart Private Hospital facility, which delivers 600 babies each year.

On Thursday, Healthscope announced it would stop offering maternity services at Hobart Private Hospital from 20 August “due to ongoing workforce challenges”.

As Healthscope blamed its shutdown decision on difficulties recruiting enough appropriately qualified midwives to work at Hobart Private, the head of the Australian Medical Association’s state branch called on all parties to work harder to prioritise the health of Tasmanian patients.

Doctor Michael Lumsden Steel President of the AMA Tasmania branch. Treasurer Michael Ferguson delivers the 2024 Tasmanian State Budget. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Describing Thursday’s announcement as a “very sad day for women in Tasmania”, Dr Michael Lumsden-Steel said Healthscope’s decision was the culmination of years of counterproductive finger-pointing about who paid for what medical services in Australia.

“We’ve got state politicians blaming federal politicians, hospitals blaming insurers, and insurers blaming doctors for the cost of health care spiralling out of control,” he said.

“But it’s all just nonsense, and the blame game needs to stop now.

“Our midwives and doctors work tirelessly, day in, day out, in public and in private, to deliver children safely, but that’s not being valued.

“And that can be seen by the federal government failing to index Medicare rebates, and by insurers failing to pay hospitals the cost it is to deliver services.

“The end result is that hospitals can’t employ enough staff to provide a service in Tasmania.”

Healthscope Tasmanian manager, Chris Hewison, said the decision to stop offering maternity services at Hobart Private Hospital was made after a fruitless 12-month recruitment campaign, during which time the hospital was flying in agency midwives to keep the ward running.

Mr Hewison said Healthscope had been unable to secure the workforce needed to maintain a stable and reliable maternity service.

“This decision is one we wish we didn’t have to make … but it in no way reflects on the professionalism and dedication of the Hobart Private maternity team who have provided an outstanding maternity service for local families,” he said.

“We will be working closely with our impacted people to explore redeployment opportunities at Hobart Private Hospital wherever possible, including offering skills retraining.”

“Our priority now is to ensure continuity of care for expectant parents and to assist our dedicated healthcare professionals who have been providing exceptional care.”

Mr Hewison said Hobart Private Hospital would accept its last maternity admissions on 13 August 2025.

For families due after that date, Hobart Private would work in partnership with their treating obstetrician “to ensure a safe transfer of their maternity care to other providers”.

Health Minister Jacquie Petrusma.

Tasmania’s Minister for Health, Jacquie Petrusma, said the government was disappointed in Healthscope’s “commercial decision”, and called for more help from Canberra in supporting private hospitals across the state.

Ms Petrusma said that with appropriate support from the federal government, Tasmania could manage the additional demand in maternity services through increased capacity at the Royal Hobart Hospital, and at Calvary Health Care’s privately run Lenah Valley facility.

“We understand this news would be concerning to those who may be affected, and we encourage Healthscope to provide detailed information to the community as soon as possible,” Minister Petrusma said.

“Our number one priority is ensuring mothers and babies have the appropriate support and services they need during their birthing journeys.”

Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Federal Health Minister, Mark Butler, acknowledged Healthscope’s decision would be difficult for many people in southern Tasmania, and said pressures within the private health system could only be managed “by hospitals and insurers sitting down together and sorting it out”.

“I understand there have been ongoing and positive conversations between private health insurers and the Tasmanian government to ensure ongoing access to services for people in Hobart,” Mr Butler said.

“Our government will continue to work closely and collaboratively with the Tasmanian Government to ensure that maternity care services are provided for all women when and where they need it.”

In a statement, Calvary Health Care said it was ready to work with industry stakeholders on how it could best assist Tasmania maternity patients in the wake of Healthscope’s decision.

“During the coming weeks and months, we will continue to operate as usual while also investigating how we may partner with the Tasmanian government and private health insurers to safely support the many expectant mothers and their families, midwifery staff, and doctors, who will be seeking alternative care and workplace arrangements,” Calvary said.

What’s next?

What will happen to those patients currently booked to give birth at Hobart Private Hospital?

Healthscope says: Patients will be provided with support, including a dedicated patient liaison officer.

The officer will assist the transition of patients to any new arrangements once a final decision is made.

“We will work with patients, their doctors and practice managers to minimise the negative impact as much as we can.”

The number has not yet been made available for the patient liaison officer.

Why did we announce our intention to stop offering maternity services?

Healthscope says: Significant staffing issues have made maintaining a stable and reliable maternity service increasingly difficult.

Despite concerted efforts and investment over the last 12 months in ongoing recruitment campaigns — both locally and nationally — with bonus referral packages, we have been unable to recruit any additional appropriately qualified midwives.

We are currently working with between four and six full time agency midwives, many who we fly in from the mainland and accommodate, to maintain a safe service.

It is no longer viable for us to maintain the service in this manner.

What are we doing to support our impacted team members?

Healthscope says: We know that a possible closure of a service is a difficult thing to hear, and staff will be provided with support to help them through this period. When a service closes, we have an obligation to discuss with effected team redeployment opportunities to other suitable roles. We will work with team members individually to identify roles that would be suitable to be redeployed to.

What does this mean for the future of Hobart Private Hospital?

Healthscope says: We want to reassure the Hobart community of our commitment to continuing to provide the highest quality of care to our patients.

This announcement provides an opportunity to refocus and strengthen our clinical services offerings, particularly in areas where we are already recognised for excellence, such as gynaecology, urology, orthopaedics, and general surgery, to name a few.

It’s a chance to align our efforts where we can have even greater impact — alleviating the pressures on the Tasmanian health system and continuing to improve patient outcomes across our state.

If you have any further questions regarding this announcement, please contact us on [phone].

Originally published as Healthscope makes call on Hobart Private Hospital maternity services