Community
23 August, 2024
Concerned resident rallies community
ONE community member has provided a space for residents to voice their concerns following the temporary pause of Camperdown Hospital’s maternity services.
Cristina Miskin founded the Save Camperdown Hospital Maternity Facebook page last week following the announcement of South West Healthcare’s pause on maternity services from August 5.
Ms Miskin said she set up the page to provide a space for community members to share their concerns following the announcement.
“As a previous staff member of the hospital and a member of the community, I was hearing a lot of concern and outrage,” she said.
“I felt like people needed somewhere to go to release that and also to have some clarification around what was happening, and just have a place where we could collaborate and bring all of the information together and show support for each other and the hospital.
“I think there’s a lot of confusion and a lot of questions as to why an immediate suspension of birthing services was necessary.
“I’ve heard questions of safety concerns at Camperdown Hospital, questions about the political relationship between Warrnambool and Camperdown campuses, concerns of the future of all maternity services and all services at the hospital in general, and what that means for the growth and future investment of our community.”
A petition to save Camperdown’s maternity services was started on August 17, with 2125 signatures on the petition as of Thursday.
Ms Miskin said she was amazed with the support shown on the petition.
“I only started that petition a few days ago because I saw that there was nothing like that up and running and getting an official parliamentary one was taking a bit of time,” she said.
“I thought, just something in the meantime for the community to feel like they’re making a difference, and it’s something they can do, and it shows MPs and South West Healthcare even that it’s affecting a lot of people and a lot of people are not happy with what’s happening.
“It can be quite big – if it ends up completely closing, that’s the worst-case scenario.
“We’re hoping it all goes back to normal, but even so it’s not okay how the women have been treated by Warrnambool, and the staff of Camperdown as well – it seems that there was no consultation, no warning, and no reasoning. Everyone’s just in complete dismay.”
Ms Miskin said the Save Camperdown Hospital Maternity page was a way for residents to communicate their concerns and seek clarification, since posts from South West Healthcare are shared onto the page.
“I didn’t think too much about it when I did it, I just thought we need to do something, and we need to come together and share our concerns and our knowledge and see if we can do something together,” she said.
“The immediate concern is the women who, last minute, were having to reconsider their birthing plans and the effect that’s been having on their mental health and their family and the financial strain.
“It’s definitely helped get in touch with MPs and the Maternity Consumer Network, and the media as well – we just want to get it out there that this is an issue affecting our community.
“It’s been helpful, and staff at the hospital are feeling the support from the community through that page which is really good.”
To sign the petition, visit www.change.org/p/save-camperdown-maternity-save-our-region.