Canberra Liberals MLA Leanne Castley, Shadow Minister for Health, will today call on Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith to provide more transparency about the loss of training accreditation at the Fetal and Maternal Medicine Unit.
The Fetal Medicine Unit (FMU) cares for women and families with complex or high-risk pregnancies who need specialised care for either themselves or their baby.
The unit lost its training accreditation on 31 August 2022, because there were not enough staff both to train specialists and to perform their regular duties, Ms Castley remarked.
“There is a lack of transparency around why Canberra Health Services (CHS) have been unable to hire staff for almost eight months and how many staff have applied,” Ms Castley said.
The Liberal MLA said that the health minister did not mention any report that the college provided to CHS about the suspension of training accreditation, or consistent numbers about staff leaving, reducing their hours, or on leave since 31 August.
Ms Castley said that she started asking questions about the unit on 3 August 2022, but Ms Stephen-Smith was only able to answer eight out of her 12 questions.
“This is a chance for the minister to come clean to Canberrans so we can understand what is going on in this crucial department for women with complex pregnancies,” Ms Castley said.
“It is disgraceful that junior doctors have had to move from our tertiary hospital to complete training because CHS have been unable to hire staff for almost eight months.”
Canberra Health Services have advertised for the position since June 2022, but have not been able to fill the position, Ms Castley said. During question time, she remarked, Ms Stephen-Smith confirmed that the only remaining specialist was in talks with Canberra Hospital “about the extent to which they want to continue working in the unit”.
Ms Castley said she is concerned that the unit is in danger of losing another specialist and cannot recruit staff for almost eight months.
“We know that the Division of Women, Youth and Children has serious cultural problems, and this is having an impact on attracting staff to CHS,” Ms Castley said.
The December pulse survey showed that compared to other Women’s, Maternity and Newborn Services, CHS reported 10 out of 12 questions that were below the norm, Ms Castley remarked. This was consistent with the statistically valid June 2021 pulse survey results, where 11 out of 13 questions rated below average.
“The Minister needs to do everything she can to retain junior doctors,” Ms Castley said. “As this has been going on for almost eight months, it is another example of her lack of action.”
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