EAST Grampians Health Service has moved to assure the community there is no need for concern following media claims Ararat Hospital’s maternity ward ratings made it a “hospital of concern”.
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The service’s acting chief executive officer, Peter Armstrong, said he would be very disappointed if the public’s confidence in the hospital was eroded by “embellished or misleading” reports.
The comments come after figures contained in the recently released “Victoria’s Mothers, Babies and Children 2012 and 2013” were used to question the hospital’s performance.
“There is no such thing as a low-risk birth … but we haven’t had any deaths or serious issues that we can recall for a decade,” Mr Armstrong said.
“We have a very good partnership with the Ararat Medical Centre and there are a good group of GP obstetricians that work well with our experienced midwives and they provide safe care.”
The report comes amid heightened scrutiny of the state’s maternity services following revelations of a cluster of baby deaths at the Bacchus Marsh maternity unit in recent years.
It reveals that across the state between 2008 and 2013 there were 281 baby deaths involving contributing factors, such as inadequate clinical monitoring, misinterpretation of tests and delayed caesarean procedures.
Mr Armstrong said the Ararat Hospital was assessed as a “Category 3” maternity facility, meaning it usually only treated woman who were more than 37 weeks pregnant.
“Anyone under that goes to Ballarat or Melbourne, so we work to strict guidelines according to what our capabilities are,” he said.
“We have certainly taken on board all of the stuff that has come out of Bacchus Marsh and are more vigilant than we have ever been.”
Leading obstetrician Professor Jeremy Oats said Victorians should have “every confidence” in the maternity system.
“Our state has one of the lowest rates of perinatal deaths in the world, equivalent to the UK and the Scandinavian countries and better than the USA,” he said.
“The overall perinatal mortality rate fell from 10.7/1000 births in 2009 to 9.5/1000 births in 2013.”
Professor Oats said the noted that of the 5769 perinatal deaths that occurred from 2008 to 2013, potential contributing factors were identified in less than 5 per cent – or 281 – instances.
The contributing factors included smoking, substance abuse, domestic violence and antenatal care.