A community group committed to saving Epworth Hospital’s maternity department held a protest on Tuesday afternoon.
Save Epworth Geelong Maternity Group staged a peaceful demonstration at the Waurn Ponds hospital to remind executives that they want the department to stay open.
The hospital announced on November 28 that it would stop taking new maternity bookings due to staff shortages and there are fears the department will close its doors altogether on March 1 next year.
Geelong GP Dr Elise Davey started a petition to help save the maternity department. It has received more than 12,500 signatures.
“Closing the Epworth Geelong Maternity Unit would be a huge loss to our Geelong community,” Dr Davey said.
“There is no job security beyond March 1 for all the midwives, doctors, obstetricians and general hospital staff from this point on.
“Keeping the private sector open also has big implications for how it helps the public.”
Sarah Ottens has birthed two children at Epworth.
“We believe the proposed closure of the Epworth Geelong Maternity Unit has been short sighted and lacked thorough stakeholder consultation,” she said.
“It is an important service for our Geelong and regional communities. Closing this service when the demand is so high will have many untold effects on the public health system.
“For the families already engaged in this service it is a stressful and devastating time, with many potentially having to travel to Melbourne to access the services they need. This is also an issue for future families with a population boom in Geelong and a potential lack of service access.”
Executive general manager Epworth Geelong Leonie Lloyd said management remained in consultation with staff and doctors, with a final decision to be made early next year.
“We appreciate the support for the dedicated midwives, obstetricians and specialist teams at Epworth Geelong Maternity,” she said.
Barwon Health spokesperson Kate Bibby said the growing region’s two other hospitals – the public University Hospital and the private St John of God – had the capacity to cover if Epworth closed its maternity department doors.
