Bush baby crisis: Chinchilla maternity unit to again close

A rural Queensland maternity unit will close this week — just two months after Health Minister Steven Miles announced it would re-open following a year of uncertainty.

A RURAL Queensland maternity unit will close this week — just two months after Health Minister Steven Miles announced it would re-open following a year of uncertainty.

The Chinchilla maternity unit had been on bypass to Dalby since December 2017 and reopened in November.

But the doors closed again for the Christmas holidays until December 27, and by the New Year, the decision was made that services would not be available from January 17.

Maternity ward closures putting bush babies at risk

Eight Queensland communities get maternity boost

“The ongoing issues with maternity in Chinchilla are farcical and show the depth and breadth of mismanagement and lazy recruitment,” the Maternity Consumer Network’s Alecia Staines told The Sunday Mail.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Steven Miles. Picture: Liam Kidston

“Those making decisions have total disregard for the community and the mental and emotional wellbeing of the birthing population.”

Women from Taroom will have to travel more than 250km to give birth at Dalby, while Chinchilla women face an 80km drive along the Warrego Highway to Dalby.

“Maternity services at Chinchilla Hospital reopened in November last year, meaning low-risk births could once again take place at the hospital. This was a really great outcome for local families,” Dr Miles said.

“During the Christmas period the service temporarily closed after it was assessed that there were no imminent births.

“Following community consultation in 2018, it was clear the Chinchilla community wanted to transition to a midwife-led model of care.

“Darling Downs HHS (Hospital and Health Service) is currently recruiting additional staff to make this new model of care happen.”

Dr Miles said the closure was temporary. He also revealed to The Sunday Mail the Rural Maternity Taskforce, set up after a Sunday Mail investigation in August into the winding back of obstetric services in rural areas, would visit four sites next month — Theodore, Roma, Mt Isa and Ingham — to investigate problems.

The minister’s office said Roma was chosen as a well-established service; Ingham as a service that was re-established in the past five years; Mt Isa Hospital as a hospital that cares for a high proportion of indigenous women; and Theodore as a hospital that has experienced change in the past 10 years.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the closure of the Chinchilla maternity unit was a blow to local women.

“Sadly, the bush baby crisis has returned in 2019 with the news that Chinchilla Hospital will once again go on maternity bypass from next week,” she said.

Submissions can be made to the taskforce at www.tinyurl.com/y8o5z98p until February 19.