I have read during the last 12 months about the Cessnock area’s long-standing infrastructure problem of health services, particularly maternity through our local public hospital.
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The Cessnock local government area’s population of around 50,000 people would produce in the order of 500 to 750 babies a year. Australia’s birth rate is bit under two percent of the population.
A GP practice can operate on about 50 births a year, a very healthy practice on 100 births a year. Therein lies opportunity to provide local infrastructure in maternity, which could easily be promoted for expression of interest including a travelling specialist obstetrician, or better still, a locally-placed specialist.
The general argument is that services at Maitland are 30 to 40 minutes away. The new Maitland hospital will extend the distance from Cessnock that bit more.
To me, local maternity services are a basic facility – not unlike ambulance services and related outpatient services. Local maternity services would certainly decrease the health risk and assist local healthcare for the mothers and children, as well as providing significant employment outside the doctors for medical staff, nurses and local retailers, including pharmacies.
In the area I reside, which bounds Katoomba, Lithgow and Bathurst, all public hospitals have maternity facilities. The populations of these three towns range from 15,000 to 40,000, and they are all about 40 minutes from each other.
They have the advantage of being federal and state seats which change. There is a state election due in March and a federal election will surface anytime in the next 18 months.
Population flows from Sydney are expected to the Lake Macquarie and Cessnock areas as outlined in the NSW Government economic infrastructure report for the Hunter.
It does not make any economic sense to not have a local maternity service when you look at the basic facts on both the job development opportunity and the health care risks that prevail presently.
I look forward to interest in the proposition to put a case to local member from the community to build the facility for maternity with a preliminary review of the interest and particularly the local doctors to support the concept. To me it is fairly simple premise of “build it and they will come”.
Grahame Danaher is a lead partner at consultancy firm NEM Australasia
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