Pregnant Mothers Around Northern Territory Forced to Fly to Darwin to Give Birth
Thursday April 2, 2009
Pregnant women in the Northern Territory areas around Gove now have to fly to Darwin to give birth after Gove District Hospital closed down.
Both obstetricians left their positions at the hospital and no replacements were found leaving expectant mothers to leave home for Darwin three weeks before birth.
Kim Wilkinson, 31, said that flying to Darwin an unreliable and costly option.
"I can't book my flights now in case something changes," she said.
Already a mother to two children, it will cost Kim and her partner $3900 to stay for around three weeks in Darwin, even with the $35 per day Patient Assistance Travel Scheme subsidy.
Health department chief executive David Ashbridge told the Northern Territory News that "we're taking it seriously in terms of making it as comfortable as possible," about the relocation of mothers to give birth at the Royal Darwin Hospital.
Find out more about flights to Darwin, Australia.
