Major hospital to open with no birthing suite

The first major new hospital for adults to be built in Western Sydney in four decades will not have a birthing unit, despite being in a high-density housing zone.

A new hospital touted as Western Sydney’s “first major adult hospital” in 40 years will be built without a full maternity unit, forcing families in one of Sydney’s fastest-growing areas to drive almost an hour to give birth or go private.

The Saturday Telegraph can reveal that expectant mothers will not be able to give birth at Rouse Hill Hospital when the long-promised facility finally opens.

That is despite the new hospital being built on the edge of high-density housing zones in Kellyville and Bella Vista, where 20,000 new homes are expected to be built in coming years.

In May, Health Minister Ryan Park declared that Rouse Hill Hospital would offer “all of the clinical services” to meet the needs of a community growing at “unprecedented levels”.

He said it was “critical” that the new hospital “met the needs of a growing population”.

An artist’s impression of the new Rouse Hill Hospital, the first major adult hospital built in Western Sydney in more than 40 years.

Six months later, Health bureaucrats have told locals that they will need to go to Blacktown or Westmead for “the birth itself” and immediate post-natal care.

“To clarify, antenatal services (pregnancy) and post-natal (after birth) outpatient services will be available at Rouse Hill Hospital,” bureaucrats told locals who inquired via a community engagement portal.

“Westmead and Blacktown will have the full range of birthing services so the birth itself, and immediate post-natal care, would be at one of these hospitals.”

Local advocate Aravind Vijay, a member of the Box Hill Nelson Progress Association, said residents in booming communities need better.

“If we don’t have birthing in here … they need to go private.

“They can’t afford to risk driving 50-odd minutes to give birth in Westmead or Blacktown.”

The $700 million hospital will have no birthing facilities.

Opposition health spokeswoman Kellie Sloane accused Labor of being “all headlines and no delivery – literally, in this case, when it comes to delivering babies in Sydney’s northwest”.

She said Labor “campaigned heavily” on providing a full service, standalone hospital in Rouse Hill, at multiple elections.

“You can understand why many people in the community are surprised and concerned that their revised plans don’t allow for maternity services,” she said.

“Labor needs to demonstrate how they are planning for the baby boom that will come with their housing ambitions.”

Jacque Capati with her children Harmony, 7, and Rhythm, 3, on the site of the new Rouse Hill Hospital. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Mr Park said the hospital would be built with “expansion zones”.

That would “enable capacity for additional services down the track, future-proofing this vital piece of infrastructure for many years as the community needs increase,” he said.

“The former Liberal-National government had a long history of undelivered commitments with this project dating back to 2015.”

Health Minister Ryan Park said the hospital would have all the services it needed to serve a growing community. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Yoga teacher Jacqueline Capati lives close to where the new hospital will be built, and says it should include a birthing centre because it would service a growing area.

“There’s a lot of families here. We do need (a birthing centre) otherwise couples have to go to Hawkesbury or Westmead and with the traffic both ways it can be difficult,” she said.

Ms Capati gave birth to her oldest daughter Harmony, now seven, at the since-closed Manly Hospital — an hour away from her home.

Her youngest girl, Rhythm, was a homebirth due to the Covid restrictions of the time.

“It was wonderful because it was a healthy pregnancy,” she said.

Do you have a story for The Daily Telegraph? Message 0481 056 618 or email [e-mail]