Cook Shire Council Mayor Robyn Holmes at the Cooktown Multipurpose Health Service. Both the mayor and the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland are asking questions about whether pathology services will be included in the Cooktown hospital upgrade. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
The Rural Doctors Association of Queensland (RDAQ) and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) have applauded the return of birthing services at Cooktown.
But the RDAQ has pointed out questions remain about pathology services in the pending $200 million redevelopment of the ageing Cooktown Multipurpose Health Service.
On Sunday (13 September), the Queensland Government announced it was ticking off an election promise and birthing would resume at Cooktown the next day.
Cook Shire Mayor Robyn Holmes welcomed the return of birthing services, but had a question for Health and Ambulance Services Minister Tim Nicholls. She said she was told late last week “pathology had been removed from the hospital build”.
“Level 3 birthing services includes pathology. Can you confirm for all the future mums in southern Cape York Peninsula that pathology is included to ensure they receive ‘world-class health services’?” the mayor asked on Facebook.
Pathologists study diseases by examining tissues, cells, and body fluids.
Speaking about pathology services at Cooktown, RDAQ president Dr Helen Fraser said: “Access to timely pathology services enhances safe clinical care.
“There is an opportunity to ensure new facilities deliver optimal local capacity in remote Far North Queensland,” she said.
The RDAQ called on the government to ensure there was enough funding provided for “optimal infrastructure improvements” at Cooktown Hospital.
“Rural families should not have to rely on headlines to understand the future of their local maternity services,” Dr Fraser said.
“Queensland has an opportunity to demonstrate genuine leadership in rural healthcare by matching public commitments with transparent planning, consultation and investment in the services communities need.”
RDAQ President Dr Helen Fraser. Photo: Supplied.
Dr Helen Fraser said families deserved certainty, transparency and safe, sustainable maternity services designed to meet the needs of diverse communities.
“Any commitment to restoring rural maternity services is a positive step and reflects years of advocacy from local communities, clinicians and rural health organisations,” she said.
“What has been achieved for Cooktown is to be celebrated.”
Mr Nicholls’ office and Queensland Health were contacted for more information. A Queensland Health spokesperson responded: “Cooktown Multipurpose Health Service has a broad point-of-care capability to support timely clinical decision-making.
“As is the case at many regional hospitals, tests requiring more advanced analysis will be sent to other labs for processing,” they said.
“The proposed master plan for the Cooktown Multipurpose Health Service is in the final stages of refinement and ensures pathology services can expand and modernise as technology and community needs evolve.”
Support service requirements for maternity are listed under Queensland Health clinical services capability framework (CSCF) guidelines. It is not a requirement for Level 3 maternity services to have on-site pathology labs, and off-site services are considered “accessible”.
The ACRRM said the return of birthing services at Cooktown enabled more women and families to have their babies closer to home.
The college said the rural generalist-led healthcare model established in Cooktown drew on the successful restoration of Weipa birthing services in 2024.
ACRRM board director and medical director of maternity services for Cape York Dr John Hall helped lead the restoration of services in both communities, which are the largest towns on the peninsula.
Dr Hall said the healthcare milestone for Cooktown and surrounding communities reflected the determination and hard work of the many people involved.
He acknowledged the leadership of Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS) director of medical services Eastern Dr Natasha Coventry and director of midwifery Michelle O’Connor.
“Natasha and Michelle have provided exceptional leadership, working with the local team to build the workforce, clinical capability, and systems needed to restore a safe and sustainable service,” he said.
“This achievement belongs to the whole multidisciplinary team and the community members who have continued to advocate for local birthing.”
ACRRM president Dr Rod Martin said the return of birthing in Weipa showed what could be achieved when rural generalist and multidisciplinary healthcare teams worked together.
“We have seen in Weipa what bringing birthing back to a rural community can mean for women, families, and the broader health service,” he said.
Millie, pictured at four months old with mum Maddi , was the second baby born after maternity services returned to Weipa in 2024. Photo: Supplied.
“Cooktown builds on that success, with obstetric-trained and anaesthetic-trained rural generalists working alongside midwives, nurses, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals, and other clinicians.”
Dr Martin said a rural generalist workforce boosted the capabilities of rural hospitals well beyond maternity care.
“Rural generalists work across general practice, emergency, and hospital care, and bring advanced skills in areas including obstetrics, anaesthetics, and paediatrics,” he said.
“When that capability is built locally it strengthens the entire health service and increases the care that can safely be provided close to home. This is a robust model that demonstrates that closed maternity services need not be closed forever.
“Rural communities should not automatically have to accept travelling hundreds of kilometres for healthcare that can be safely and sustainably delivered locally.”
TCHHS states women with healthy, low-risk pregnancies will be referred for assessment at Cooktown under the new model of care.
“The return of birthing services at Cooktown Multipurpose Health Service follows significant planning and preparation to make sure maternity care is safe, high-quality and tailored to local needs,” a statement read.
“The service is expected to support around 40 births each year for families in Cooktown and nearby communities, including Wujal Wujal, Hope Vale, Laura and Lakeland.”
Cook MP David Kempton says he’s happy more families can access birthing services closer to home. Photo: Supplied.
Cook MP David Kempton said he was thrilled birthing services had resumed.
“This is great news for families in Cooktown, Hopevale, Wujal, Lakeland and district who have been forced to leave home for four to six weeks prior to the birth, causing separation, stress and financial hardship,” he said.
“In the 1990s, when I lived in Cooktown, my three children were born away from Cooktown which involved months of separation, time away from the farm and the business.
“The first pregnancy was placenta previa and the second child was born with a heart condition, both requiring specialist attention at birth, so I know first-hand how traumatic childbirth can be for families in remote areas.”
Mr Kempton said the Cooktown Hospital Level 3 birthing centre had been refurbished and was served by specialist obstetricians, gynaecologists, anaesthetists, midwives and obstetric-trained rural generalists to ensure families would not have to make the trip to Cairns.
