WERRIBEE Mercy Hospital has rejected reports its move away from private obstetricians is a cost-cutting measure that will jeopardise patient care.
The hospital has been accused of refusing to renew the contracts of doctors who have been providing private obstetric care to the hospital for as long as 25 years because it could no longer afford their services.
But Mercy’s executive director Linda Mellors said the contracts were not being renewed because the hospital wanted to provide women with free maternity services.
“Werribee Mercy Hospital is continuing its transition to a public maternity services modal to ensure the women of Wyndham have access to increased free maternity services in line with the rest of Victoria,” she said.
“Plans have been in place and communicated with our staff, the private obstetricians and GP obstetricians since 2008 regarding this change.”
Dr Mellors said the full-public model worked well in other hospitals and would not affect the number of women able to give birth at Werribee.
The changes would allow the hospital to increase the number of births and give women greater choice.
“Women now have access to a range of maternity care options including team midwifery care, GP shared care and obstetrician care.
“Women will still be able to chose to be a public or private patient.”
Women already booked to give birth at the hospital will not have their care altered.
Changes to the hospital’s maternity services follow last week’s completion of a $14million maternity unit expansion.
The unit includes antenatal and postnatal areas, 32 beds and a special care nursery for 16 babies.
