Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Most women look forward to the birth of their baby with feelings of anticipation and excitement, but for many women in the wider Gladstone region this excitement was tempered with feelings of anxiety and fear when the Gladstone hospital maternity ward was put on bypass on 8 July 2022.

After almost a year since the Gladstone Hospital maternity ward was put on bypass, the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service has announced the reintroduction of the usual full-birthing services at the Gladstone Hospital from 3 June. At phase 3, all expectant mothers with low-risk pregnancies being 37 weeks or more gestation can give birth closer to home at the Gladstone Hospital. High-risk pregnancies will be referred to Rockhampton, as has previously been the case. The high-risk pregnancies have always been referred to tertiary hospitals, and this outcome will continue.

This announcement is long overdue after countless meetings, community forums, media events, ministerial representations and speeches in parliament. My sincere thanks goes to Jemma from Save Gladstone Maternity Ward and the Gladstone community for their continued advocacy in the restoration of these services. As a community, we have banded together for the services the region needs, and, let me be clear, without advocates such as Jemma this bypass may have extended longer than necessary.

I released a petition, on 18 August 2022, drawing attention to the decline in the availability of maternity and other medical services at Gladstone and the negative impact this has had on the wider Gladstone region. The petition called on the Queensland Premier and the Minister for Health to provide adequate funding and resources and qualified medical professionals at the Gladstone Hospital to deliver maternity and other medical services. This petition received mass support across the region, with over 3,000 people signing the petition. Almost a year on, I'm pleased that the bypass has ended, so thank you to the Gladstone community.

As we all feel relieved the bypass has ended, there must be a commitment that the maternity services are here to stay in the Gladstone region. The Queensland government must explain what the plan will be to implement and retain obstetricians and attract more health professionals to the region to maintain these health services. We also need to see the Biloela hospital maternity ward reinstated. It's been placed on bypass since August 2022.

I wish to conclude by emphasising that Australia is a prosperous nation. Giving birth in your local hospital should not be a given right for women in metropolitan areas only. It should also be the right of everybody in regional and rural Australia.