Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith has said health authorities are in discussions with remaining specialists in the fetal medicine unit about their employment with Canberra Health Services.
A lack of specialists has meant the unit at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children has lost its accreditation for training in maternal and fetal medicine and there are fears more staff will leave due to current workplace conditions.
The hospital requires accreditation from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to train medical staff but this was suspended due to a shortage of subspecialist staff.
Ms Stephen-Smith said there had been one trainee in the unit and the trainee had been moved to another hospital to complete their training. She said this had been supported by Canberra Health Services and it was expected the trainee would return to the Centenary Hospital in due course.
The Health Minister was asked about the staffing situation by opposition health spokeswoman Leanne Castley during question time.
Ms Stephen-Smith said she was reluctant to talk about individual circumstances of staff at Canberra Health Services but she said there were discussions with specialists still working in the unit.
"I can confirm there are ongoing conversations with the remaining specialists in the fetal medicine unit about the extent to which they want to continue working in that unit as a CHS employee," she said.
The Canberra Times understands there is widespread discontent within obstetrics and gynaecology at the women and children's hospital and staff have left or taken personal leave over recent months.
However, health authorities have sought to reassure the public that the service is still safe.
"I want to really reassure the community that the service itself continues to be a safe service," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
Ms Stephen-Smith said Canberra Health Services were working on hiring locum staff to support the service.
"There is also work underway to ensure there is a more permanent solution in having those staff available that cannot only undertake the care of people who require fetal medicine ... but can also re-instigate the training program," she said.
The loss of specialists has also created difficulties for ultrasounds, with claims hundreds of ultrasounds were unread.
A spokesman from Canberra Health Services previously rejected this, saying all ultrasounds were "communicated and sighted" by the treating obstetricians.
But he did acknowledge there had been delays in formal reporting of ultrasounds.
"Not all ultrasounds have been formally reported on in a timely manner, however, this has not impacted on their use in diagnosis and treatment," the spokesman said.
A Sydney specialist has been contracted to "finalise the paperwork for any ultrasound reports".
The spokesman also said the organisation was working to recruit specialists.
"We are working hard to recruit additional subspecialists and RANZCOG have committed to reinstate CHS training accreditation once the staffing situation improves," he said.
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
