Women and families across the Banana region can now begin planning to welcome their babies closer to home, with Biloela Hospital officially accepting referrals for its returning birthing service.
The opening of referrals marks a major milestone in the return of local birthing services and reflects significant progress across workforce recruitment, staff training, infrastructure readiness and service planning.
Eligible women with healthy, low-risk pregnancies can now be referred to the service and assessed for suitability under the new model of care.
Central Queensland Health Chief Executive Lisa Blackler said opening referrals was an exciting step forward for local families and the broader community.
"This is an important milestone on our journey to return birthing services to Biloela,” Ms Blackler said.
“Opening referrals means local women can now begin discussing with their healthcare team whether they may be eligible to give birth closer to home.
“We know how important local maternity services are for families, and we're pleased to be taking this next step in a careful and planned return of the service."
The reopening of referrals follows extensive preparation to ensure the service is ready to provide safe, high-quality maternity care for the community.
Over recent months, maternity staff, nurses, medical officers and support teams have participated in training and simulation exercises designed to strengthen clinical skills, teamwork and emergency response capability.
Director of Nursing Kim Siegmeier said safety had remained at the centre of every stage of planning.
"Our focus has always been on ensuring we have the right workforce, systems and clinical governance in place before accepting referrals,” Ms Siegmeier said.
“This milestone reflects the significant work undertaken by staff across the hospital and health service to prepare for the return of local birthing care."
The service will support women with low-risk pregnancies while maintaining established referral pathways for women requiring more specialised maternity care.
General practitioners, midwives and maternity clinicians across the region have been provided information about referral pathways and eligibility requirements to support a smooth and coordinated commencement of the service.
Families across the Banana region will continue to benefit from local antenatal and postnatal care, with the addition of local birthing services providing greater choice and continuity of care closer to home.
Ms Blackler said the opening of referrals demonstrated Central Queensland Health's ongoing commitment to supporting rural and regional communities.
"We have worked closely with our staff, clinicians, consumers and community members throughout this journey,” she said.
“Today's milestone reflects that partnership and brings us one step closer to welcoming babies born as part of the returning service.
“We look forward to supporting local families through this exciting new chapter."