Shaquille Chong leads a parliamentary petition to provide continuity of care by private obstetricians in Cairns

A Far North Indigenous lawyer is petitioning parliament to allow private obstetricians to perform deliveries in public hospitals in Cairns, ahead of the private maternity unit’s closure next week.

A parliamentary petition with 2000 signatures is calling for support in having private obstetricians led by Dr Liz Jackson birth patients in exchange for services at CHHHS. (L-R) Petitioner Shaquille Chong, Dr Liz Jackson of Birds of Paradise private clinic, health minister Shannon Fentiman and CHHHS CEO Leena Singh.

A Far North Indigenous lawyer has launched a parliamentary petition, which has gathered more than 2000 signatures in a week, to allow private obstetricians to perform deliveries in public hospitals in Cairns ahead of the private maternity unit’s closure next week.

Mareeba resident Shaquille Chong, a past patient with private obstetrician Dr Anusha Lazzari, said it was a “no-brainer” to hop on the advocacy bandwagon and call for ministerial intervention as it directly impacted women’s choice.

The current situation took away women’s rights on who they want present at their birth, she said.

“Being regional and remote, regardless of sector, we need to retain doctors and cannot afford to have barriers put in place,” Ms Chong said.

“It is so hard to recruit health professionals and specialists here in the first place.”

If private obstetricians weren’t able to deliver in Cairns, this would affect their scope of practice and take away specialists from the region, she said.

“Public hospitals can be resourced but if you don’t support all doctors within the community with specialist qualifications, you will be taking away fertility services.

“It is not just about maternity,” she said.

Going private in her case was how she was able to access IVF, which is not available in the public system.

Shaquille Chong has pioneered a parliamentary petition gathering more than 2000 signatures in favour of private obstetricians being allowed to work in public hospitals. Picture: Sandhya Ram

She called for a fast tracking of the newly proposed Queensland Health “digital passports” system to help clinicians easily move between hospitals for work and assist with filling workforce gaps.

Earlier this year, it was announced Cairns Private Hospital will be shutting down its maternity unit starting November 1.

Since then, private obstetricians in the region and the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service have failed to come to an arrangement that ensures continuity of care for private patients affected by the impending closure.

Private obstetrician Dr Liz Jackson called for a previous practice from 2017 to be reinstated where private obstetricians had access to deliver babies in public hospitals.

Along with her colleague Dr Lazzari, she offered her services to Queensland Health in exchange for the ability to birth private patients at hospitals within the CHHHS district.

This was rebuffed by the health service, which said no formal proposal had been received and maintained it was well equipped to handle the extra patients as a result of the private hospital’s maternity services closure.

Cairns Hospital Acting Clinical Director of Women's Health Rebecca Wright and Midwifery and Nursing Director Mary McGuinness in the Maternity Assessment Centre at Cairns Hospital. Picture: Brendan Radke

CHHHS chief executive Leena Singh previously said all obstetricians seeking to provide care at Cairns Hospital could apply for available positions within their Women’s Health team, including locum positions.

“Obstetrics by its very nature can be unpredictable and requires other infrastructure such as operating theatre capacity and staffing resources beyond that of an obstetrician.

“My priority is to ensure our resources are firstly deployed to meet the needs of the public patients which include ensuring theatres are available for those who require elective surgery and have been waiting on a list for some time.”

Construction began this month on a new maternity assessment room in preparation for an extra 10 to 20 patients as expected by the health service following the private maternity unity’s closure.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman has previously said the decision to grant private admitting rights for a practitioner at any public hospital needed consideration of a number of factors.

In response to the ongoing petition she said the decision could not be made by her alone.

“I understand that the Cairns Hospital and Health Service is working closely with Dr Jackson and Dr Lazzari, in relation to private obstetricians practising within public hospitals,” she said.

“I have also written to Dr Jackson and am happy to meet with her to discuss her concerns.

“The decision to grant private admitting rights for a practitioner at any public hospital cannot be made by me as the minister alone, it needs to be in consultation with the frontline public health workers and the hospital and health services.”

Originally published as Shaquille Chong leads a parliamentary petition to provide continuity of care by private obstetricians in Cairns