However,the nurses union also said patients should feel confident in the local public hospital,University Hospital Geelong. Gilbert said union members believed the hospital could absorb the additional births.
There are about 100 women booked to have their babies at Epworth Geelong,who were due to give birth after the closure. The Epworth has begun contacting all of its patients who are due from March 1.
Federal Liberal senator for Victoria Sarah Henderson said Epworth’s decision was heartless.
“It didn’t even have the decency to keep its maternity unit open long enough so that all existing patients could give birth,” she said.
Obstetrician Dr Kara Thompson,whose clinic OGB Surf Coast opened rooms at Epworth last year,said there had been a huge amount of community support to keep the unit open,and confirmation of its closure was disappointing.
“Now this closure is happening,it won’t be reversed,and it will be a very long time until we’ll see another option like Epworth provided in our region,” she said.
“And it’s such a growing area that the impacts of that are going to be felt over probably over the next couple of decades.”
Obstetrician Nisha Khot toldThe Age earlier this week that the closure of the only private secular maternity unit in Geelong,would mean women seeking procedures,including terminations,tubal ligation and other methods of contraception,would face increasing challenges as such treatments are not available at Geelong’s St John of God Hospital.
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“These are really heartbreaking decisions to make and to not have those choices available when you’re making such a difficult,life-changing decision is simply not acceptable.”
Fuller said Epworth HealthCare tried to recruit new midwives from the community and overseas,but was still short of people to work at night and in the birth suite.
“This is a current issue and predicted to continue in the medium and longer term,” he said.
“We appreciate this will be a very upsetting and difficult day for many of our patients,staff,doctors and the community.
“We thank everyone who provided feedback and suggestions during the consultation period,including patients,staff,obstetricians,paediatricians,GPs and the local community. We have considered many proposals and assessed a number of possible scenarios.”
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