Maternity services updates

Birth Suite and Maternity Unit visitors

• Visiting hours are from 11.00am to 8.00pm daily. Partners may visit from 7.00 am to 8.00pm. 
• Do not visit the hospital if you have COVID-like symptoms or acute respiratory infection symptoms (even if you have a negative RAT).
• Do not visit until it has been seven days since you were diagnosed with COVID or classified as a close contact.
• Up to two people (no children) can attend the Birth Suite (no swapping out).
• For Special Care Nursery visitor restrictions, please speak to a midwife.

More information on visitor restrictions at the hospital.

Transfers to another hospital for maternity care

St John of God Midland Public Hospital is currently experiencing both a midwifery workforce shortage and a higher than expected demand on its maternity services. 

Unfortunately, there is a shortfall of qualified midwives across Australia, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hospital has implemented a number of short-term arrangements to ensure patients continue to receive high quality maternity care. 

These new arrangements make the best use of the network of hospitals across Perth by transferring some patients' care to alternative maternity services to ensure every woman is cared for safely and appropriately.

Patients will be directly informed if they will be transferred to another hospital.

The hospital is continuing to explore recruitment options, however, the midwife shortage is an Australian-wide issue.

Last year the hospital experienced its highest level of activity since opening, with 2,096 births – a 14 per cent increase over the previous year.

Maternity bypass 

Due to the very nature of pregnancy, we cannot plan with certainty the number of birthing mothers who may present to our hospital on any given day, so it is important a process is in place to ensure every woman receives care.

In events when you cannot be accepted by our maternity unit, you may be directed to another maternity hospital.

All WA metropolitan public hospitals providing maternity care use a standard operational practice known as ‘bypass’ to manage instances of unusually high demand. This means birthing mothers may be diverted or transferred to another hospital for their continuing care. The decision to divert or transfer birthing mothers is always made in the interest of patient safety.

Please be assured that decision is made with you and your baby’s safety in mind and you will not be transferred to another hospital in any situation where it is not safe to do so.

Maternity bypass process 

• Please call the midwife at St John of God Midland Public Hospital, as per the process discussed during ante natal clinic appointments.
• Once a decision has been made to transfer your care, the midwife will advise you which maternity service has accepted your care, where they are located and the phone number for the accepting maternity unit.
• Copies of all your medical records will be faxed to the alternative maternity unit and the midwife will provide the receiving unit with a summary of your pregnancy and care so far. Please take your Pregnancy Hand Held records with you.
• If you are transferred from our hospital this will be via ambulance at no cost to you. If it is safe to do so, you may be able to make your own way to the alternative service.
• Throughout the bypass we will keep in contact with your alternative maternity service and will endeavour to transfer you back into our care once the bypass is over.
• Our midwives will provide follow-up care after the birth of your baby.

Direction to other public hospital maternity units  

The alternative maternity hospitals listed below are all located within the Perth metropolitan area. Please click on the relevant hospital names to get respective directions via Google Maps.

Armadale Health Service
3056 Albany Highway, Mt Nasura
Antenatal Assessment Unit, Level 1
Triage midwife: 08 9391 2947
 
Fiona Stanley Hospital
102 – 118 Murdoch Drive, Murdoch
Maternal Fetal Assessment Unit, 
Level 3 (access via the blue lifts on the main concourse)
Triage midwife: 08 6152 8853

Joondalup Health Campus
Corner Grant Boulevard and Shenton Avenue, Joondalup 
Switchboard: 08 9400 9400

King Edward Memorial Hospital
Bagot Road, Subiaco
Level 1, B Block
Triage midwife: 08 6458 2199
  
Osborne Park Hospital
Osborne Place, Stirling
A Block
Midwife Coordinator: 08 6457 8021