Calvary Lenah Valley Hospital has opened its upgraded maternity ward after a $6 million federal government investment helped the facility expand enabling hundreds of extra births each year.
The expansion followed the closure of maternity services at Hobart Private Hospital, which left a significant gap in southern Tasmania.
Federal Assistant Minister for Health Rebecca White said the funding had helped support services at both Calvary and the Royal Hobart Hospital.
“When maternity services closed at Hobart Private Hospital, many families were understandably concerned about what that would mean for access to private maternity care in southern Tasmania,” she said.
Tasmanian Health Minister Bridget Archer said the upgrades ensured families in the south still had a choice about where to give birth.
“The fact that we have excellent private maternity services here at Calvary to complement the exceptional services provided in the public system at the Royal Hobart Hospital is vital, ensuring choice for Tasmanian families,” Archer said.
She said it was also important that the full burden of extra births did not fall on the public system alone.
Calvary’s local Chief Operating Officer Melissa Evans said the hospital had gone from delivering around 30 babies a month to an average of 66.
“Last year we delivered about three hundred and fifty-five babies,” Evans said.
“This year we’re gonna deliver potentially about eight hundred.”
The upgrades include a refurbished fifth birthing suite fitted with a new birthing bath, a renovated special care nursery able to care for up to five babies needing higher-level support, a new staff room, medication room and patient lounge, and additional specialist equipment including cots, incubators and ultrasound machines.
Evans said the majority of staff from Hobart Private had transitioned to Calvary, with others moving to the Royal Hobart Hospital.
