More than 250 families forced to leave Carnarvon to give birth but State Govt stresses closure is temporary

More than 250 families have been forced to travel hundreds of kilometres from Carnarvon to give birth since maternity services were shut down in February 2022 — but the State Government maintains the arrangement is temporary. Figures provided to State Parliament recently show 259 families have sought reimbursement for travel and accommodation due to the town’s maternity closure, mainly to Geraldton and Perth. While there have been 336 pregnancies in Carnarvon between February 2022 and August 2025, just two births have taken place in the Gascoyne town over that time. Nationals WA leader and Mid-West MLA Shane Love slammed the State Government for failing to restore the service, claiming the community had been left without a plan or a timeframe for the return of the service. “Labor promised this would be a temporary closure, but over three years later, families are still being forced to leave their homes and support networks during one of the most important times of their lives,” he said. “Carnarvon is the largest community in the Gascoyne, yet for more than 1300 days, it has been impossible to give birth here.” According to a response tabled in Parliament, the 259 families affected have been reimbursed more than $1.7 million for travel and accommodation costs. “It is an absolute disgrace that in a State as wealthy as WA, women between Geraldton and Karratha cannot access maternity services close to home,” Mr Love said. Most families have been diverted to King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth and Geraldton Regional Hospital, with some travelling as far as Busselton. The Nationals leader argued that the government should redirect money spent on travel towards regional workforce attraction and retention. A WA Country Health Service spokesperson said the closure of maternity services remained temporary, citing a national shortage of midwives and doctors with obstetric skills. “We’re working hard to recruit additional staff,” the spokesperson said. “Two new permanent midwives have recently been recruited. We remain committed to re-establishing birthing services in Carnarvon.” There have been multiple recruitment drives for obstetricians, anaesthetists and midwives by WACHS since 2022, receiving dozens of applications, though only a small number met Australian registration requirements. A series of measures have been taken to address the shortage, including a $7000 incentive for midwives, postgraduate training support, negotiations over a fly-in fly-out trial, and new industrial agreements aimed at attracting the specialist Rural General Practitioners required for rural maternity services. A State Government spokesperson said the situation was “a direct result of workforce pressures” affecting health services worldwide. “In the meantime, we will continue to support Gascoyne families who have been required to travel to access birthing services by meeting their travel and accommodation costs,” the spokesperson said.