Gynaecologists and obstetricians at Gosford and Wyong hospitals have pledged to treat only urgent and life-threatening cases until the Central Coast Local Health District hires more doctors and nurses.
Scores of women’s health appointments across the region have been cancelled or postponed, as the doctors raise serious concerns about patient safety due to staff shortages.
This disruption comes in addition to hundreds of local nurses going on strike last week for better pay.
The Sydney Morning Herald revealed this week that nine obstetricians and gynaecologists gave the Central Coast Local Health District an ultimatum, asking for more staff by Friday, September 6.
Doctors warned that without action, they would have to resign, cancel non-urgent services, or stop seeing patients at Wyong Hospital.
After the deadline passed with no solution, the doctors informed colleagues that they had no choice but to stop all but the most urgent services, leaving many patients without care.
“We didn’t want to shut down services,”
gynaecologist Helen Manning said.
“This decision has been difficult for us, but we have to put the safety of our community first, as we can no longer guarantee patient safety.”
Her colleague, Dr Kelly Hankins, pointed out that the waiting list for gynaecological care had grown from 50 women waiting no longer than a month to more than 1,400 waiting more than a year.
“We need the resources to care for women and babies on the Central Coast,” she said.
In response, Central Coast Local Health District Chief Executive Scott McLachlan apologised for the inconvenience caused by the cancellations and said the District was looking for alternatives for affected patients.
He also mentioned that hospital management was talking with doctors to ensure urgent and critical care continued.
However, McLachlan admitted that attracting and keeping healthcare workers, especially in regional areas, remained a long-standing issue.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park highlighted these challenges during NSW Budget Estimates last week, saying that staff shortages in regional areas were an ongoing problem.
Meanwhile, nurses and midwives went on strike for 12 hours, demanding a 15 per cent pay raise to help keep and attract staff to the profession.
The continuing staff shortages across regional NSW are putting heavy pressure on healthcare services, especially for women’s health on the Central Coast, where doctors say the situation is becoming unsustainable.
David Abrahams