Gold Coast fertility: Gold Coast Health introduces catchment ban on baby births

Families wanting their babies delivered on the Gold Coast will now face tighter scrutiny after the introduction of a catchment ban to ease pressure on the city’s maternity wards.

GOLD Coast Health has introduced a catchment ban on families wanting their babies delivered in the city’s public hospitals.

Contrary to record low per person fertility rates, the raw population on the Gold Coast is booming and putting added pressure on health services.

Gold Coast Health last year decided to stop accepting maternity referrals from out of the area following a record 5100 births in both 2017 and 2018 at the Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH).

The measure, which limits the maternity facilities to the local government area, was done to ensure that mums on the Gold Coast were not denied access to their local service.

The hospital has continued to accept referrals for women requiring complex management and

care from northern New South Wales, as GCUH is the closest tertiary hospital for these

services.

GOLD COAST’S SOARING COST OF HEALTH CARE REVEALED

Gold Coast University Hospital has had a record number of birth’s last year despite low fertility rates. Picture Glenn Hampson

REVEALED: GOLD COAST’S MOST FERTILE SUBURBS

Hazel Brittain, service director for women, newborn and children’s services at Gold Coast Health, said births had increased more than 35 per cent since the hospital opened in 2013, peaking at 5140 births in 2018.

“GCUH is the first choice for many mothers because we offer world-class facilities, quality

care and a range of birthing options which include a growing continuity of care model

that’s preferred by increasing numbers of women.”

In 2017, 6958 babies were born on the Gold Coast.

In the same year, the total fertility rate (TFR) or average number of children born or likely to be born, was 1.7 per woman.

The Gold Coast Bulletin has previously reported on the extreme pressure placed on the GCUH maternity service.

In mid-2018, a report released by Queensland’s Acting Health Ombudsman found the number of pregnant women presenting to the busy emergency department was a pressure point for the hospital.

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Gold Coast University Hospital . Picture Glenn Hampson

WHY HOSPITALS WANT LOCAL BABIES ONLY

The report revealed the hospital’s maternity service met standards for safe quality care but system breakdowns were evident.

The Health Ombudsman report found there had been 30 complaints between 2014 and 2017, sparking 21 assessments which led to six investigations.

The report made eight recommendations to target Gold Coast Health’s accountability, transparency and safety and quality governance, which have since been implemented.