A Werribee GP has slammed the state government for failing to boost funding for maternity services at Werribee Mercy Hospital after a pregnant woman, due in December, was unable to secure a booking.
Dr Joe Garra said he had been surprised to learn that the hospital’s maternity unit was already at capacity for December, with no places available with either the Team Maternity Care or Shared Maternity Care for that month. Dr Garra said the state government’s $85 million expansion of Werribee Mercy Hospital should have included an expansion of maternity services.
“Maternity is not an elective procedure. We don’t want women having … to drive in labour to Sunshine,” he said.
“There will be babies popping out on the Ring Road. There has to be a clear plan about what this hospital will provide now – and in five and 10 years’ time.”
Mercy Health health services chief executive Linda Mellors said Werribee Mercy did its best to accommodate every maternity booking, “however on occasion we do need to refer some women to other hospitals”.
“This happens when our maternity service is experiencing high demand over a short period or when a woman is assessed as having a very high-risk pregnancy,” she said.
“From 2013-14 to 2015-16, Mercy Health fulfilled a three-year commitment with the Department of Health and Human Services to increase the number of births by 20 per cent per year at Werribee Mercy Hospital.”
Adjunct Professor Mellors said 3585 babies had been born at Werribee Mercy between July 1, 2017, and May 31, 2018.
Health Minister Jill Hennessy said the government was giving the hospital the funds it needed to treat more patients than ever before.
“We’re also working closely with Mercy Hospital on a detailed management plan to cater for a growing community and ensure all mothers who wish to use the service can do so,” she said.
