Terang and Mortlake Health Services has reassured people that its capacity to provide maternity services, including delivering babies, has not been stripped by the state government following speculation in metropolitan media.
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It was rumoured the service had been downgraded from a level three to a level two or one service. If downgraded to a level one service, it could not deliver babies anymore.
The hospital’s chief executive officer Margaret White described some of the reports published on Friday as “very misleading”.
“There’s been no decision to cease birthing services in Terang at the moment and we need to reassure the community that we’re functioning at our normal level,” she said.
Ms White said the hospital had been assessing its capability framework like all other agencies across the state, and discussions were ongoing.
“There is certainly at this point in time no decision to cease services at all,” she said.
“We need to reassure the community that we’re working within our framework and we’re providing a safe service within that framework.”
An earlier version of this story stated that Terang Hospital had had a level two maternity capability classification, but it is currently classified as level three.