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Midwife shortage forces closure of St Vincent's post-natal unit in Launceston, Tasmania.

Northern Tasmania’s only private post-natal maternity unit will close at the end of the year because of a midwife shortage.

Currently, all women in the region have to give birth at the state-owned Launceston General Hospital (LGH), but those with private cover can transfer to nearby St Vincent’s to recuperate.

The post-natal service at Calvary St Vincent’s will close at the end of the week.

Chief executive Grant Musgrave said the service had been running intermittently but because it could not recruit enough staff.

“We’ve made repeated attempts over the last six months to try and recruit midwives to the post-natal service, and we haven’t been successful in this regard, so I guess we had to make a call, and we’ve made a decision that we won’t reopen the unit in 2017,” he said.

“In November we advertised [widely] … and didn’t get one applicant.”

About 180 women a year transfer from the LGH to Calvary

Forty-three expectant mothers were booked but now have to make other arrangements.

“Some ladies were very disappointed about the news,” Mr Musgrave said.

“This was a very difficult a decision, one that has not been taken lightly.

“We apologise for the inconvenience this will cause to members of our community, particularly the women who have made bookings.”

Mr Musgrave said the LGH had been informed of the decision.

“Previously, we have been discussing the opportunity for midwives to work across both hospitals; there are some that do, but there is a severe shortage of midwives generally in Launceston,” he said.

Mr Musgrave said the service could reopen in the future if new staff were hired.

In a statement, the Government’s health service said it was working through the likely impacts of Calvary’s decision but would “ensure all women continue to receive appropriate post-natal care.”

This post originally appeared on ABC News.


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