AN OVERWHELMING amount of residents agree the Leeton hospital has been without an obstetrician for too long.
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The Irrigator recently ran a story speaking to a former resident, who is due to give birth at any moment, but won’t travel to town in case something happens to her baby.
As the Leeton District Hospital remains without an obstetrician, Katherine Barraclough said she was horrified to find out the town’s mothers were still without this vital service. A poll conducted by Fairfax Media found this was something other residents agreed with.
Over 93 per cent of respondents said something needed to be done immediately to attract an obstetrician to town. Just over 1.5 per cent said it wasn’t something they had really considered.
A further 5.33 per cent said it wasn’t a service that was needed at the hospital on a full-time basis. The issue continues to create a stir within the town, with many using social media to air their opinions.
“Are Leeton maternity patients still being transferred to Griffith Base for deliveries and complications?” asked Gemma Miller on The Irrigator’s Facebook page. “If so, in my opinion, it is totally unacceptable for the fact that Griffith Base maternity ward is already so understaffed and overworked without the patient transfers.”
Mothers due to have their child are currently being told to either travel to Griffith or Wagga to do so. Midwives at the Leeton hospital are currently undergoing more training and, once completed, will be able to deliver “low risk” babies.
The Murrumbidgee Local Health District hasn’t committed to saying it was actively seeking an obstetrician for the hospital, but rather it would welcome the “opportunity to credential a general practitioner obstetrician for Leeton”.
Leeton Health Service manager Jenny Tyrrell said there were currently no full-time GPs with a diploma of obstetrics in the shire. “Therefore, Leeton hospital does not meet NSW Health requirements to provide birthing services,” she said.
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