Healthscope announces intention to close maternity services at Hobart Private Hospital
20 February 2025
Healthscope today announced it intends to stop offering maternity services at Hobart Private Hospital from 20 August 2025 due to ongoing workforce challenges.
This difficult decision was made after a long and thorough review of the operational viability of the service.
Despite concerted efforts over the past 12 months, including local and national recruitment campaigns, Hobart Private has been unable to recruit any new appropriately qualified midwives to work in the maternity ward.
This has led to the hospital flying in and accommodating up to six full time agency midwives, representing up to half of the midwives needed to staff the ward, to maintain a safe service for families in Hobart.
Unfortunately, despite the efforts of the Hobart Private team, it’s become unviable to continue operating the service in this manner.
Healthscope Victoria/Tasmania State Manager Chris Hewison said, “this decision is one we wish we didn’t have to make.”
“We have looked at a range of options to maintain the maternity service and worked very hard to recruit the full-time midwives we need,” Mr Hewison said.
“Unfortunately, these efforts haven’t secured the workforce we need and has made maintaining a stable and reliable maternity service increasingly difficult.
“This decision in no way reflects on the professionalism and dedication of the Hobart Private maternity team who have provided an outstanding maternity service for local families.
"We will be working closely with our impacted people to explore redeployment opportunities at Hobart Private Hospital wherever possible, including offering skills retraining. We’ll also support with securing positions at other Healthscope facilities or assisting them to find roles in other local health settings.
“Our priority now is to ensure continuity of care for expectant parents and to assist our dedicated healthcare professionals who have been providing exceptional care." Mr Hewison said.
Hobart Private Hospital will be accepting its last maternity admissions on 13 August 2025, with the service proposed to close on 20 August 2025. Expectant parents due to give birth prior to 13 August will not be impacted by this decision and will still receive the high-quality care Hobart Private Hospital prides itself on.
For families due after this date, Hobart Private will work in partnership with their treating obstetrician to ensure a safe transfer of their maternity care to other providers.
Healthscope has been in ongoing discussions with the Tasmanian Government and the Department of Health about the challenges we have been facing to secure the workforce needed to maintain our maternity service.
No other services are impacted at Hobart Private Hospital as a result of this decision. Other clinical specialities, including gynaecological services, will continue as usual for patients.
About Healthscope
Healthscope is Australia’s only national private healthcare provider, operating 38 hospitals across the country, and employing over 18,000 people. Healthscope offers world-class patient care, including medical and surgical services, mental health treatment and rehabilitation services.
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Background:
Healthscope is Australia’s only national private healthcare provider, operating 38 hospitals across the country, and employing over 18,000 people. Healthscope offers world-class patient care, including medical and surgical services, mental health treatment and rehabilitation services
