The Rockliff Liberal Government has delivered on its commitment to transition the delivery of maternity services across North West Tasmania to the public system.
The transition has occurred almost 12 months earlier than initially planned, which means that all elements of the maternity service – including inpatient, birthing, clinics, and community midwifery services – are now delivered through the public system.
Minister for Health, Guy Barnett, visited the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie today to mark Monday’s significant milestone.
“The new service will provide high-quality care to mothers and babies in the region and importantly, it has been designed in collaboration with clinicians and consumers to deliver a safe, integrated and effective service,” Minister Barnett said.
“I’m delighted to hear that since Monday’s transition 11 Tasmanians have been born here – 5 boys and 6 girls.
“We listened to the community and this change brings all elements of the maternity service together.
“This is important because the region supports approximately 1,000 births each year, and thousands of antenatal and postnatal appointments yearly.
“I am pleased to see that this transition has now been achieved and I want to thank everyone involved for their role in facilitating this very important project. I also want to thank Healthe Care and the North West Private Hospital for working with us to facilitate this transition and acknowledge that our operational relationship remains strong.
“To get to this point, several important steps were required including negotiating a lease with the North West Private Hospital for the space to provide the service, and collaboration with mothers, midwives and doctors to develop a model of care. We also introduced new legislation to support the smooth transition of healthcare workers from the private hospital to the Tasmanian State Service.”
The transition delivers on key recommendations from the Independent Review of Quality, Safety and Management in the North West Maternity Services published in October 2021.
