Gold Coast Private Hospital maternity ward closure fears after Healthscope shuts wards in Hobart, Darwin

Fears are growing for the long-term future of the maternity unit at a major Queensland private hospital after its operator closed two wards in two Australian state capitals.

The Gold Coast Private Hospital at Parkwood. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Fears are rising over the long-term future of the Gold Coast Private Hospital maternity unit as Healthscope closes wards in Hobart and Darwin.

The Gold Coast Private and Brisbane Private are the two maternity Healthscope hospitals in Queensland and the National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (NASOG) fear more cuts, putting extra pressure on already overworked public maternity services.

NASOG chief Gino Pecoraro said Healthscope’s decision highlights the growing instability in Australia’s private health care sector, exacerbated by the financial pressures facing private hospital operators.

“With the closure of these two units it is only natural that the women on the Gold Coast or elsewhere would be worried,” Assoc Prof Pecoraro said

A Healthscope spokesman said on Thursday that “no other maternity services across Healthscope hospitals, including Gold Coast Private, are affected by today’s announcement”.

“Healthscope today confirmed the intention to stop offering maternity services at Hobart and Darwin Private Hospitals due to local operational challenges impacting the sustainability of the services,” the spokesman said.

The unit closures occur against the backdrop of a potential takeover of Healthscope by a consortium including health insurerBUPA, raising alarms about the creeping influence of insurers over clinical decision-making.

NASOG warns that such a move could accelerate the introduction of a managed care model — where insurers dictate treatmentpathways, limit patient choice, and reduce the autonomy of doctors,” Assoc Prof Pecoraro said.

“The closure of these maternity services underscores the fragile state of private obstetric care and foreshadows a dangerousshift towards insurer-controlled managed care,” Associate Professor Pecoraro said.

Healthscope has closed wards in Hobart and Darwin. Photographer: Luis Enrique Ascui/Bloomberg News

NASOG is calling on the Federal government to intervene.

The Australian Medical Association Queensland president Nick Yim said that private maternity units play an essential rolein relieving pressure on the overwhelmed public system.

“Private maternity units have been closing across the state due to workforce pressures rising costs and inadequate privatehealth insurance rebates. According to state government data there are only 418 obstetrics and gynaecology specialists inQueensland serving the entire state, with fewer than 11 per cent of them working exclusively in the public sector,” Dr Yimsaid.

“Many of these doctors work across both the private and public system, providing vital care to the entire community and trainingour future obstetric specialists. However, many private obstetricians are restricted from treating their high-risk patientsin Queensland public hospitals,” he said.

The AMAQ insists that the state government step in and review these arrangements to relieve pressure on public services andallow patients to receive the continuity-of-care they expect from their private health cover.

Originally published as Gold Coast Private Hospital maternity ward closure fears after Healthscope shuts wards in Hobart, Darwin