No gynaecologist shortage, despite a 100 cancellations in a month

There are reports of up to 15 cancellations a day. However, Hunter New England Health (HNEH) has assured the community despite the disruption, there was no shortage of specialists.

HNEH director of regional health services Susan Heyman said changes had been made to the clinic schedule, but the service should soon return to normal.

"The hospital is in the process of reviewing the gynaecology clinics to ensure patients are seen in a timely manner and in the right setting, whether that be via a specialist clinic or a GP," Ms Heyman said.

"During this process we have made some changes to the clinic schedule and a number of appointments are being rescheduled.

"This is a process we are still working through and we’re grateful for how patient the women involved have been.

"I’d like to assure the community that all patients who clinically require an appointment at the hospital, will be seen in an appropriate time."

With one gynaecologist retiring in a few months, Ms Heyman said HNEH had already started recruiting.

"We currently have five doctors who provide gynaecological services at Tamworth hospital - no doctors have recently left the service," she said.

"One of our doctors is sadly retiring but we have recruited a new staff specialist and we look forward to them starting in July. We are also in the process of recruiting another registrar.

"While recruitment is under way, we are using locum doctors to ensure the department is fully staffed to meet all the needs of the community."

Ms Heyman encouraged anyone concerned about changes to their appointment to get in touch with the clinic or visit their GP.

"We have a dedicated team of doctors who provide a high quality obstetrics and gynaecology services to the women of Tamworth," she said.

In other health news, Tamworth recently welcomed seven new midwives.

While four of the new staff members are fresh out of university, the other three have stayed on in Tamworth after graduating through an existing pathway that trains nurses to be midwives.