Sexual health care goes private
The State Government has announced it will pay a private sexual and reproductive healthcare provider near the Midland Health Campus to carry out procedures like abortions.
It was revealed on Monday that plans to build a stand-alone clinic next to the hospital for abortions, sterilisations and contraceptive health had fallen through because the Government could not identify a financially viable way to build the dedicated facility.
A separate clinic became necessary after the hospital’s Catholic operator St John of God Health Care, which outbid two other providers to win a $5 billion contract to run MHC, refused to provide the “restricted procedures” on religious grounds.
Health Minister Kim Hames yesterday confirmed that the services would be provided by reproductive healthcare group Marie Stopes International but paid by public purse.
Dr Hames said the Government had funded an upgrade of the clinic’s equipment and staffing so it could provide the whole range of services that would have been offered at the hospital.
He said he expected the annual cost would be in the order of half a million dollars.
“We have been negotiating with an organisation called Marie Stopes International, who are a medical clinic that are just down the road,” Dr Hames said.
“The total annual cost is probably what we pay now to have those same services provided at the hospital, so we are not expecting an increased budget.”
Shadow health minister Roger Cook said the deal was “entirely unacceptable” and the result of a failed privatisation deal.
“What does a health minister have to do to get sacked?” Mr Cook said.
“This is a public hospital, it should have the services that you would normally expect a public hospital to provide.
“By virtue of the clinic being offsite, you are not going to have those joined-up services and you are going to lose the opportunity to provide some pretty sensitive stuff for a lot of women and men in the Midland area.”
Swan District Hospital performs on average about 200 contraception, sterilisation and pregnancy termination procedures each year.
