Darwin Private Hospital will close its maternity and birthing services in two months with Health Minister Steve Edgington saying he had hoped Healthscope, the company which owns the hospital, would give expectant families at least nine months notice to allow them to properly plan their births.
The hospital would not comment to the NT Independent, stating there would be a media briefing this afternoon, but the paper understands there are about 200 to 300 births per year at the facility, while NT Health figures show there are about 2000 births per year at Royal Darwin Hospital which sits next to it.
Palmerston Regional hospital was set up with a birthing suite complete with water birthing facilities. It’s never been used as staffing was never budgeted when the hospital was built.