THE waiting game for regional mums continues to drag on with the uncertainty about the future of maternity services in Biloela, Chinchilla, Cooktown and Weipa continuing.

Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli said expectant mothers in those communities deserved answers on when they could give birth in their communities.

“The maternity service closures under the Palaszczuk Government are another sad chapter in the Queensland Health Crisis,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“Expectant mums and their families in Biloela, Chinchilla, Cooktown and Weipa, have been kept in the dark for too long.

“After eight years in office, the Palaszczuk Government have stopped listening and Queenslanders have lost faith in their ability to deliver services.

“Queenslanders saw the emotional toll it took on families when Gladstone Hospital’s maternity ward went on bypass for a year, yet the Health Minister has allowed these facilities to remain closed.

“The former LNP Government proudly reopened maternity services in Beaudesert, Ingham and Cooktown, while successive Labor Governments have shut 37 across the state.”

• Closing the Weipa maternity service in 1999.
• Steven Miles first promising in 2019 to reinstate the Weipa Maternity service that could deliver up to 70 babies a year.
• A ‘Ministerial Commitment’ following the Rural Maternity Taskforce report to reopen the service.
• A promise at the end of 2020 by Yvette D’Ath that the service would be operational by the ‘end of 2021’.
• Another promise at the start of 2022, where Yvette D’Ath promised the service would be operational by ‘late 2022’.
• The latest commitment in October 2022, where the Torres and Cape HHS said the service would commence in late January 2023, but would only be capable of 25 births a year.

Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates said the Health Minister needed to be upfront and honest with these communities.

“In the short time Shannon Fentiman has been Health Minister she has created a culture of secrecy and cover-ups,” Ms Bates said.

“These regional communities deserve to know when they’ll get their maternity wards back.

“As a registered nurse and former Hospital Administrator, I know how stressful and dangerous it is for pregnant women to travel large distances to access basic services.

“Mums are being let down by a Government in chaos and crisis, unable to deliver maternity services for Regional Queensland.

“Since Annastasia Palaszczuk became Premier, Queensland babies have been born on the side of major roads.”

“Regional Mums deserve better.

“After eight years, three terms, four Health Ministers and a Palaszczuk Labor Government overcome with chaos and crisis, regional communities have been left behind.”