By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
CASEY Hospital has declared it is turning around reported higher-than average mortality rates for babies born at the hospital.
At a community forum on Tuesday 27 October, a team of Monash Health maternity bosses responded to concerns raised by two expecting couples due to the figures.
One father-to-be described the hospital’s perinatal mortality ratios for babies born at the hospital as “off the charts”.
“If Casey Hospital has more low-risk births, why is (the ratio) so bad?”
According to a state health department report, the hospital’s perinatal mortality ratio for babies born at 22 weeks was 168 in 2008/’12, well higher than the statewide benchmark of 100.
For babies at 32 weeks, the ratio was 138, according to the Victorian perinatal services performance indicators 2008/’12 report.
The rate was the second-highest in the state, though the under-fire Bacchus Marsh Hospital was not featured in the report.
Professor Euan Wallace, head of Monash Health’s obstetrics and gynaecology, told the forum that the high ratios were a product of the hospital’s small size during the reporting period.
The hospital’s births had grown annually from less than 400 in 2005 to about 2000 expected in 2016.
“In a small hospital, which is where we have been, just one still-born baby makes the numbers look a lot bigger.”
Prof Wallace said since the 2008/’12 reporting period, Casey and Dandenong hospitals had closed to “much closer to 100”.
“Much of that is due to Casey getting bigger and bigger, and also because of the improvements across the service.
“I don’t think there’s anything unique about Casey in terms of service and risks.”
He noted also the stringent review of birth cases and practices each month by a Monash Health committee.
The health network’s “mission” was to score below 100 across all of its hospitals by 2016, he said.
Casey Hospital maternity nurse unit manager Colleen White last week labelled recent media reports about the maternity unit as “disappointing” and “misleading”.
“Casey Hospital is an extremely safe place to have a baby.”
Ms White said the hospital had delivered “thousands of healthy babies” over the five-year period.
“Unfortunately, we had a small number of deaths above what we expected for Casey Hospital specifically.
“That is what the figure represents, but it is not an indication that any were avoidable or preventable.
“We know from our own recent reviews that our ratios are now absolutely back to what they are expected to be.”
A spokeswoman for Health Minister Jill Hennessey said the health service had not been identified as “being of concern” after a review of all perinatal deaths across the state over the past seven years.
She said the government announced new reporting measures including requiring all health services to review any perinatal death, and the quick review of cases by a statewide perinatal autopsy service run by the Royal Women’s Hospital.
Regional perinatal mortality committees will also review each death within three months.
The spokeswoman said the Department of Health and Human Services would review all of the state’s perinatal services to identify if any improvements could be made.
