Expectant mothers in central Queensland are being forced to drive more than 100 kilometres to give birth, after Gladstone Hospital's maternity unit was put on bypass due to a lack of obstetricians.
The industrial city is home to 60,000 people and the hospital delivers about 600 babies each year.
It is the only health facility in the region where residents can give birth after the former Mater Hospital was bought by the state government and incorporated into the public facility.
Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said the hospital's maternity unit had been on bypass for "close to two weeks now".
"We just have exhausted all avenues of trying to find locums," she said.
"We have these problems happening across the system. Gladstone is not unique.
"We are doing everything we can, including reaching out to other hospital and health services to see if we can get other obstetricians to come in from the other hospitals to help with those pressures."
Ms D'Ath said the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting the search for replacements.
"I hope we can resolve this soon," she said.
Representative body 'not surprised'
National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (NASOG) president Gino Pecoraro said he was not surprised that Gladstone Hospital's maternity unit had gone on bypass.
He said NASOG warned the situation would happen during talks with politicians when Gladstone Mater Hospital closed its private maternity service nearly four years ago.
"It's a tragedy that for a region servicing 60,000 people, they no longer have a maternity unit, but we're seeing this same story replayed across Australia," Dr Pecoraro said.
"Unfortunately, the predictions that we've already made that this would occur, will be borne out around Queensland and the rest of the country unless something is done to stem the flow.
"It's a national issue that will require federal and state health ministers working together with the profession to find a workable and lasting solution.
Impacted by long-term sick leave
Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service's chief executive Emma McCahon said Gladstone Hospital had been impacted by obstetrics and gynaecological specialists taking long-term sick leave.
"Locum staff have been used wherever possible to continue services," Dr McCahon said.
She said the hospital had been in contact with all women due to deliver soon to update them on the situation.
Dr Pecoraro said private obstetrics was becoming less and less affordable for the average family in Australia.
"There needs to be a coordinated approach between the states and the federal government to make sure that the health insurance companies actually properly fund obstetrics so that private obstetrics can be enabled to survive and thrive," he said.
"We need both systems working together. If private doctors leave … an area, they take with them the support that they frequently offer the local public hospital.
"The knock-on effect of this is that people are forced to go to their public units, which are simply not staffed, nor ever designed, to deliver all of the services for an area.
"We've seen this in rural Victoria and now we're seeing it in not-so-rural Queensland."
Dr Pecoraro called on Gladstone families to mobilise and pressure their politicians, both state and federal, to fix the maternity crisis in the city.
Maternity unit in 'serious crisis'
The issues with Gladstone's maternity unit first became public last week when LNP Senator Gerrard Rennick shared a letter he sent to Ms D'Ath on his Facebook page.
He claimed the maternity unit was in a "serious crisis".
"It is completely unacceptable that a large regional town with a population of over 50,000 does not have a permanent maternity unit," Senator Rennick said.
Locals have for years been campaigning for better services at the hospital, including an intensive care unit and better mental health services.
Central Queensland (CQ) Rural Health is undertaking a review of health services in Gladstone for the CQ, Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast Primary Health Network (PHN), expected to be completed next month.
As part of that process, a survey of 519 community members and health professionals was conducted in January.
More than half of the respondents to the yet-to-be published survey, which has been seen by the ABC, thought maternity services at Gladstone Hospital were not meeting community needs.
Only 9.4 per cent thought it was meeting community needs, while 40 per cent were indifferent or recorded no opinion.
Most of the health professionals surveyed said maternity services should be offered face-to-face in Gladstone.
Only one responded that patients should have to travel to Rockhampton.
