Birthing services have returned to Cooktown Multipurpose Health Service for the first time since 2022. Photo: Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service.
The Queensland Government is delivering on an election commitment to return birthing services at Biloela Hospital and Cooktown Multipurpose Health Service.
Birthing services were shut down in 2022, and their return means that local women can have their babies closer to home. The move is part of a broader government plan to deliver health services where Queenslanders need them.
The boost for Cooktown Multipurpose Health Service follows sustained workforce development and recruitment by the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service.
“We made a commitment to regional Queenslanders we’d restore these services and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Premier David Crisafulli said.
“Families have waited a long time for the return of these birthing services after they were cut by the former government.
“I was born in a small country hospital, so delivering on this commitment is deeply personal for me.”
Efforts to deliver the new service include the hiring of obstetric-trained rural generalists to complement the Cooktown medical team. The health service has already recruited the midwives and rural generalists required to support the service.
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Tim Nicholls said: “We’ve made targeted investments to recruit more clinicians and improve local facilities to ensure the safe return of birthing services to these communities.
“This is about delivering on our commitment to regional Queensland and making sure women and families can access quality maternity and birthing care closer to home and their support systems.”
The government sped up the services’ delivery by fast-tracking infrastructure upgrades and staff accommodation availability.
Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service Chief Executive Rex O’Rourke said about 40 births a year were expected in Cooktown and surrounding communities.
“Of course, women may still choose to birth elsewhere; however, for the first time in many years, they once again have the choice to birth locally,” he said.
