St John of God Geraldton Hospital to resume postnatal care for local mothers, not births

Mothers can once again access postnatal services at Geraldton’s private hospital, but Geraldton Health Campus remains the only hospital where women can deliver their babies locally.

St John of God Geraldton Hospital on Monday announced it had resumed postnatal services at the clinic, two months after staffing shortages forced the temporary closure of its maternity ward.

The service will offer women the option to transfer to the private hospital for postnatal care between four to six hours after giving birth at Geraldton Health Campus.

St John of God Geraldton Hospital chief executive Phillip Balmer said staff were eager to resume caring for local mothers.

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“Since making the difficult decision to suspend the maternity service late last year, we have worked hard to develop a new model of care that offers privately insured women and families the benefits of private maternity care while ensuring we deliver a safe and high quality service,” he said.

The hospital will provide transport and clinical support from a midwife or nurse for women and babies who transfer from Geraldton Health Campus.

Obstetrician, allied health clinicians and paediatricians will also provide support after admission.

Mr Balmer said the service gave mothers a chance to enjoy an extended hospital stay, with partners also able to remain in hospital overnight.

“We know our hospital and maternity care is highly valued in our community, so we are really pleased that we can once again offer people living in Geraldton and the surrounding areas some of the benefits of private maternity care close to home,” he said.

“We are fortunate within our community to have dedicated doctors, midwives and nurses working closely together across the public and private system to put women at the centre of the care they provide throughout pregnancy, childbirth and beyond.”

It is not known when mothers can resume giving birth at the private hospital, with Mr Balmer saying the clinic continued to “explore other viable models of care” to expand services in the future.