Ladies who are in labour in the South Muskoka area will now have to travel north for half-an-hour to deliver at Huntsville District Memorial Hospital (HDMH).
Due to labour shortages and at the South Muskoka Memorial Hospital (SMMH) site in Bracebridge, the decision to consolidate services came after consultations with its clinical teams, including the medical advisory committee, physicians, nurses, and other medical staff.
“Safe, high-quality obstetrical care is a top priority,” said Cheryl Harrison, president and CEO of Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC). “Our decision to temporarily consolidate services reflects our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of patient care within our obstetrical program.”
Currently the plan to offer labour services at Huntsville is scheduled for one year beginning as of Tuesday.
The consolidation period allows clinical teams to focus on low patient volumes, referral patterns and leaves of absence, and nursing and physician coverage which has made it difficult to sustain the safety of labour and delivery services at SMMH.
For patients, those who arrive at South Muskoka in labour will be assessed, stabilized, and transferred to the Huntsville hospital site to ensure safe care.
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Emergency obstetrical care will continue to be available at SMMH and its care team will work at the same location at the SMMH Site, with the same shifts ensuring continuity in the workplace. Patients can continue to use available prenatal and post-partum services.
MAHC’s decision to consolidate services in Huntsville will be reassessed in six and nine months as it works to strengthen capacity at the South Muskoka hospital, with the goal of reinstating obstetrical services as soon as it is safe to do so.
“We appreciate your patience as we work to improve obstetrical services at SMMH,” says Harrison. “I’d like to acknowledge the very hard work of our obstetrical teams of physicians, midwives and nurses providing labour and delivery services.”
