Canberra's women's and children's hospital has lost its accreditation for training in maternal and fetal medicine due to specialist shortfalls in the department.
The lack of staff has meant the hospital has not been able to formally report on all ultrasounds in a timely manner as some work has had to be outsourced to a Sydney specialist.
Sources familiar with the situation have expressed alarm at the loss of accreditation and are fearful more staff across obstetrics and gynaecology will leave due to current workplace conditions.
The Centenary Hospital for Women and Children requires accreditation from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to train medical staff.
A spokesman from Canberra Health Services said the accreditation had not been lost but "temporarily suspended" and it would be reinstated once the staffing situation had improved.
"Accreditation as a training unit has been suspended due to the current shortage of subspecialist staff in the department, which impacts their ability to provide accredited training in addition to their regular duties," the spokesman said.
"This does not affect the quality and safety of care in the unit."
But the loss of specialists has also created difficulties for ultrasounds, with claims hundreds of ultrasounds were unread.
The spokesman 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 said the organisation was working to recruit specialists.
"There is a significant skills shortage in tertiary fetal medicine nationally, leading to challenges attracting staff to the organisation," the spokesman said.
"We are working hard to recruit additional subspecialists and RANZCOG have committed to reinstate CHS training accreditation once the staffing situation improves."
Cultural problems within the hospital's maternity department have been rife for years and this has affected staff retention and recruitment.
The maternity unit has previously been at risk of losing its training accreditation due to mismanagement and long-running cultural problems.
Midwives at the hospital last year spoke to The Canberra Times expressing alarm at the skills mix within the hospital, saying many senior health staff had left or cut back their hours.
A parliamentary inquiry into nursing and midwifery in the ACT has also heard from midwives who say the system is broken and they are completely burnt out.
One midwife, who is a graduate, said in a submission she had worked more double shifts than she could count and there was not enough staff to help with newborns.
"I have wiped the tears of new mothers who can't get their newborn to latch because there is simply not enough staff to accommodate teaching her. We are exhausted and fed up," the submission said.
"I keep telling the crying women that this is bigger than us. It isn't the midwives who are sacrificing their personal lives and mental health who are the problem, it's this broken system and empty promises that stems far above us that needs to change."
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.
