Midwife care faces crisis on staffing as private birthing units continue to close
Looming maternity workforce shortages are set to have a ”catastrophic effect” on midwifery care, a new report has found, as private obstetric units come under continuing severe pressure
Workforce shortages are set to have a “catastrophic effect” on midwifery care, a new report has found, as private obstetric units come under severe pressure.
A major private obstetric unit at Gosford on the NSW central coast is to close in March, with hospital operator Healthe Care blaming the cost of living and inadequate health insurer payments.
Gosford Private Hospital opened its maternity unit in 2021, but has not been able to keep it running.
Obstetricians are warning that the closure, which follows eight other private maternity units closing over the past 18 months, will put unsustainable pressure on the local hospital, which is expected to be hit with a 20 per cent increase in demand for birthing services, or 500 extra births a year.
All elective gynaecology surgery at Gosford’s public hospital has been cancelled in the light of the coming pressure. Only two of the private obstetricians in Gosford have affiliation and the ability to deliver babies for privately insured women in the public hospital.
Private obstetric services have been under pressure in recent years as hospitals struggle with financial viability and staffing. The number of births in private hospitals has plummeted, with recent analysis finding that if current trends continue, birthing in the private system may become “extinct by 2030”.
Obstetricians are furious at what they say is inadequate payment to hospitals by health insurers, which has pushed many maternity units to the brink of unviability. In some pockets of the country, such as Cairns, families have taken out private insurance that they cannot use because there is no private birthing service.
Many maternity wards are sitting idle in private hospitals, with operators no longer able to sustain the expensive, labour-intensive care required.
The federal government has recently completed a review of the viability of private hospitals, which is yet to be released.
The private maternity crisis comes as analysis commissioned by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia found that Australia’s midwifery workforce is also in crisis and there are not enough midwives or current midwifery students in the pipeline to meet future needs.
The Midwifery Futures project was undertaken in collaboration with the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers of Australia and New Zealand to review the current state of Australia’s midwifery workforce and generate information needed to guide improvements.
It found the sector was struggling with widespread localised staffing shortfalls, particularly in non-metropolitan areas. There was expected to be a slight excess in future workforce numbers to 2030, but predicted escalating attrition rates of staff would have a “catastrophic impact” on hospitals’ ability to staff midwifery services.
The report finds there are not enough midwives or students to meet future needs and a third of respondents were considering leaving the profession.
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