No more babies will be delivered at the Lacombe Hospital and Care Centre.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) made the decision to remove the Obstetrics department last December after a dramatic decrease in births — from 81 delivered in 2018 to just 31 in 2019.
“The Lacombe Hospital will no longer be delivering babies. That has come after a lengthy review of our obstetric services and our birth rate at the facility,” said Kimberley Sommerville, AHS Lacombe and Bentley area manager.
The choice was purely a patient safety issue and not a budget issue, according to Sommerville, who added no jobs were lost because of the decision.
“A growing number of women in Lacombe are actually choosing to have their babies elsewhere because of the ability to have the surgical backup or epidural, which we cannot offer in Lacombe at this time,” Sommerville said.
So, with the decrease in births and since obstetrics requires significant training for all staff involved, it became a safety issue ensuring all parties are adequately prepared.
“Because obstetrics is a high-risk practice that requires a team of nurses and physicians to be kept up on their skills, we need to be able to deliver babies frequently,” Sommerville said.
The decision was made after consultations with physicians, nurses, staff and patient feedback.
High risk births were already referred to other hospitals, so now all patients will be referred to a hospital of their choice.
“Low-risk pregnant patients can still work with their local physicians to continue that pre-natal care,” Sommerville added.
Patients will then be transitioned to a doctor at the hospital of choice at about 30 weeks.
That’s not to say there won’t be babies born in Lacombe.
“If there is an imminent birth, like the one we experienced here in our parking lot some time ago, we will have the ability to assist in that moment and then arrange transport via EMS to the facility of their choice,” Sommerville added.