LOCAL doctor Tuan Au says when a local health service is closed, it generally doesn’t reopen.
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However, Singleton Hospital has reversed this trend and is now offering a full-range of obstetric services for expectant mums.
Thanks to the efforts of Singleton’s health services manager Wendy Mason-Jones and four dedicated local general practitioners, procedures like inductions or speeding up the birth process, and C-sections can now be performed on healthy mums at any time.
Ms Mason-Jones estimates these services have been performed by specialists from Newcastle and Maitland for the past five years.
“Although we were lucky to have the best obstetricians in the region on call like Dr Joshi, Dr Soaki and Dr Lockyer, they were only available until 9pm,” she says.
“This is great news for women in Singleton as we are adding to the current level of services.”
Dr Au has undertaken many hours of training under the tutelage of John Hunter Hospital’s director of obstetrics, Henry Murray, so he can competently perform caesarean sections, Ms Mason-Jones adds.
“Working alongside him is Dr Richard Marshall, Dr William Debelak and Dr David Sanders.”
“All have years of experience administering anaesthetics and the team we have assembled is delivering good results.”
With 20 years’ experience anesthetising patients, Dr Debelak says this is not unusual for a country hospital but it is pleasing to see the services provided are continually improving.
Dr Marshall, dressed in his scrubs and ready to operate, says he has no problem assisting as long Dr Au performs the C-section.
The light-hearted banter between the doctors indicates they all do indeed combine well.
“Everyone has worked hard, including Wendy and my three other colleagues, to make this happen,” Dr Au explains.
“It is a team effort, we all work together to achieve a successful outcome.”
Ms Mason-Jones says her next goal is the addition of a purpose-built imaging centre, with other services incorporated, after the Baird government announced they will invest $7 million from the Hunter Infrastructure & Investment Fund (HIIF) into the Singleton Hospital in the lead up to the election.
