St John of God Subiaco: Retiring obstetricians add pressure to stretched hospital

Three highly skilled obstetricians working out of St John of God Subiaco will quit obstetrics by the end of June, fuelling concerns the future of Australia’s private maternity system is “under serious threat”. Respected doctors Seonaid Mulroy, Fiona Langdon and John Love will stop delivering babies and caring for pregnant women at Subiaco within months. The Sunday Times understands Dr Love will retire from obstetrics and work as a gynaecologist at SJOG Subiaco while also continuing his role as a leading fertility doctor at Fertility Specialists of Western Australia. He has practised obstetrics at Subiaco since 2000, following in the footsteps of his father Dr Clem Love and grandfather Dr Alexander Love, who were also specialist obstetricians at the same hospital. Dr Mulroy, who has more than three decades experience in labour and delivery, and Dr Langdon, a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist experienced in high-risk pregnancies, are closing their obstetrics practices to focus on fertility medicine and work at Monash IVF in West Leederville. “With the closure of my obstetric practice I am so looking forward to being able to completely dedicate myself to patients going through this journey,” Dr Langdon recently wrote in an Instagram announcement. A woman who has given birth at SJOG Subiaco but asked not to be named said the departure of such “highly regarded and experienced doctors” would come as a blow to expectant mothers. Blow to expectant mothers “I was chatting to a friend who was booked in for an induction at SJOG Subi and she has now been bumped to (another day) as the hospital is so busy and they are prioritising higher-risk patients,” she said. “Booking in a day is a benefit of private which isn’t a guaranteed at SJOG right now. “I would question if they can continue to offer the care they want to (now these obstetricians are leaving) and if this could place additional pressure on the public system.” SJOG Subiaco hospital CEO Tina Chinery confirmed “a small number” of obstetricians were leaving the hospital but said it was well equipped to continue to deliver safe and high-quality maternity services to families. Twenty obstetricians are currently accredited to admit maternity patients to the hospital. It is understood two of the obstetricians have already formally notified the hospital they will no longer be admitting patients there from mid-2025. The Sunday Times understands Subiaco is currently credentialing some new obstetricians but the process is yet to be finalised. Concerns private maternity hospitals face collapse without major reforms were exacerbated after SJOG stopped delivering babies at its Mt Lawley hospital from December 20, 2023, citing a drop in admissions and workforce struggles. The Catholic healthcare provider transferred the obstetric services from Mt Lawley to Subiaco. Then, in mid-2024, SJOG Subiaco had to put a three-month freeze on new patients. It stopped accepting new bookings for deliveries in September, October, and November because it had reached capacity. It was the third time in eight months SJOG had limited maternity services across its hospitals in WA. SJOG’s Bunbury maternity ward also closed last year because of ongoing challenges in delivering private obstetric care in the South West, including a chronic shortage of employed midwives and a lack of obstetricians. A month before that, Margaret River Hospital transferred maternity services — except for low-risk pregnancies — to the Busselton and Bunbury hospitals. More pressure on public system Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists president Dr Gillian Gibson said the decline in private obstetrics services was depriving women of choice and putting significant pressure on the “already under-resourced public system” and workforce. She said women facing high-risk pregnancies, or those who prioritised continuity of care with an obstetrician, often relied on private maternity services. “The future of the private maternity system in Australia is currently under serious threat,” Dr Gibson told The Sunday Times. “Australia’s healthcare system relies on a robust private sector to support its public system. “The financial disincentives and structural gender biases that undermine private obstetrics disrupt this balance, putting further strain on the public system that was not designed to manage such a demand. “If this trend continues, it will cost both State and Federal governments additional hundreds of millions of dollars as the public system sees an influx of additional births. “The Federal Government and providers of private health insurance must come together to reach an agreement to reverse this growing crisis.” Private maternity in ‘crisis’ Dr Gibson said the closure of private facilities was also worsening the growing “maternity deserts” in rural, regional, and remote areas across Australia, forcing some women to travel hours for essential care. “Women with private health insurance in these areas find it increasingly difficult to use their coverage,” she said. “As private obstetrics services close, practising specialists often leave these communities, further reducing access to care.” Ms Chinery said SJOG Subiaco would be bringing in several highly experienced obstetricians this year to ensure women continued to have a wide range of choices for their maternity care. However, she did not say where the obstetricians would come from or exactly when they would start delivering babies at Subiaco. She said Subiaco safely delivered close to 4000 babies in 2024 — a 52 per cent increase in births on the previous year, and to meet increasing demand, it had “substantially expanded” its maternity team by about 64 per cent since 2023. She said a new maternity wing was also proposed for stage three of the hospital’s current redevelopment project and a recently launched clinic was providing women with additional midwifery and lactation support. This was on top of Subiaco operating the State’s only private neonatal intensive care unit. “A large number of obstetricians and obstetric groups practise at our hospital and provide exceptional care and services,” Ms Chinery said.