The Community Midwife Practice at the Tamworth Hospital might be about to show the first signs of new life next year, after closing the books and going on hiatus in April due to staffing issues.
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Despite six months of “actively recruiting to the roles” in the hope of re-opening the program Hunter New England Health have been so far unable to fill those vacancies, although Executive Director, Rural and Regional Health Services Susan Heyman confirmed that the service is expecting to open the books “at some stage next year”.
“We will be accepting a small number of women who have been deemed low risk into the program next year,” she said.
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“The date and number will depend on maintaining staffing levels, having staff that have the necessary skills and training, and assessed on the women’s needs – we need a well staffed service where safe care is the priority.”
“We are taking steps to ensure the program is continued to be re-offered and will continue actively recruiting to both the core and group services.”
The issue facing this service has also been seen elsewhere around the state and country, with Local Health Districts struggling to attract a range of health professionals, including midwives, to regional and rural locations for some time.
“We have tried a few different avenues and widened the net at different times, but it is no surprise to anyone that recruiting midwives is very difficult,” Ms Heyman said.
“We have been successful in getting some, but then others have left – our core service is not full, so we are not in a position to fully staff the group practice.”
Hunter Health has now widened the net even further, looking to recruit midwives from the UK in recent weeks with at least one application already in, while a few other vacancies are hoped to be filled in the next few weeks.
The development of the Consumer Panel has been one positive to come out of the program hiatus and ensuing community response.
“We have got some really good voices on the panel who have worked with us on our transparency, planning and making sure that our services are community focussed,” Ms Heyman said.
