The Director-General of Queensland Health, Shaun Drummond has convened the Women’s Health Workforce Forum with a focus on workforce challenges to the delivery of women’s health services, particularly in regional, rural, and remote areas.
The Forum assembled a range of stakeholders, including general practitioners, midwives, obstetricians and gynaecologists, as well as industry groups, consumers, unions, private providers and universities.
Mr Drummond (pictured) said the event was an opportunity to explore strategies to secure the healthcare workforce needed to meet the current and future needs of rural and remote communities, and to build the workforce pipeline required to continue delivering safe and sustainable women’s health services.
He said the Forum had acknowledged the need for a multi-pronged approach across several clinical areas to ensure that women-centred care remained at the forefront of all birthing and maternity services.
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services, Yvette D’Ath said the Forum was an important gathering of Queensland’s leading experts in women’s health seeking solutions to the challenges currently being faced by the State’s maternity and birthing services.
“Everyone at the Forum was passionately committed to the management and sustainability of neonatal, maternity, birthing, and gynecology services,” Ms D’Ath said.
“The Forum also looked at rotational support models, clinical skills development, and workforce shortages, including how we lead the attraction, selection and retention of the right people to create a sustainable, diverse, and engaged workforce.”
She said there had been no barriers to discussion — “just honest and robust conversations about complex and challenging matters, and how we can all work together to navigate the best way forward for all Queenslanders”.
