Important information regarding Darwin Private’s maternity services  

Darwin Private Hospital recently announced its intention to stop offering maternity services from 17 April 2025. At this stage, we anticipate that our last maternity bookings will be on 10 April 2025.     

Patients who are due to give birth on or after this date will be provided with support from NT Health and information about the maternity services available to them.  

This has been a very difficult decision. We understand the connection that the community has to the hospital, the maternity services and the staff and we know this will be disappointing news to hear. Please be reassured that no other services at Darwin Private Hospital are impacted as a result of this announcement.    

 

What will happen to those patients currently booked to give birth at Darwin Private Hospital?   

We know a possible change like this will be very unsettling for expectant mothers, particularly during such an important time in their lives.  

Patients will be provided with support from us, including a dedicated patient liaison officer. This officer will assist to smoothly transition patients to any new arrangements once a final decision is made. We will work with patients, their doctors and practice managers to minimise the negative impact as much as we can.  

Those patients who wish to get in touch with our patient liaison officer can reach them on DPH.MaternityPLO@healthscope.com.au 

 

Why did we announce our intention to stop offering maternity services?  

Sadly there are several factors which make this service no longer viable for us to operate. These include:    

• Declining birth numbers in the hospital have more than halved in the last decade from over 700 in 2013, to less than 300 in 2024.   

• Limited access to paediatricians, obstetricians, midwives, and at times anaesthetists, to cover on-call and in-patient services safely. 

 

What are we doing to support our impacted team members?  

Our maternity team will be provided with support to help them through this period. When a service closes, we have an obligation to discuss with effected team redeployment opportunities to other suitable roles. We will work with team members individually to identify roles that would be suitable to be redeployed to.    

 

What does this mean for the future of Darwin Private Hospital? 

We want to reassure the Darwin community of our commitment to continuing to provide the highest quality of care to our patients.  

This announcement provides an opportunity to refocus and strengthen our clinical services offerings, particularly in areas where we are already recognised for excellence, such as gynecology, neurosurgery, orthopedics, and general surgery, to name a few. It's a chance to align our efforts where we can have even greater impact — alleviating the pressures on the health system and continuing to improve patient outcomes across the Territory.    

If you have any further questions regarding this announcement, please contact us on DPH.MaternityPLO@healthscope.com.au .