Labor councillors block support for heart surgeries at children’s hospital

by GRACE JOHNSON

Labor councillors of Randwick City Council have blocked the motion to support the retention of paediatric cardiac services at Sydney Children’s Hospital (SCH).

On October 24, Randwick Council resolved that they would write to the NSW Premier and the NSW Minister for Health and Medical Research, requesting that the State Government restore and maintain an appropriately funded program for paediatric cardiac surgeries, including cardiac bypass, at the Sydney Children’s Hospital. 

Council also resolved that the Mayor and General Manager meet with the Health Minister in relation to this matter. 

However, Labor councillors blocked the motion by submitting a notice of rescission motion, requesting that Council defer any action and consideration until the Health Minister’s offered briefing to the Mayor and General Manager has occurred.

The three Labor councillors in Randwick City Council – Councillors Parker, Neilson and Luxford – have since called an extraordinary council meeting for their notice of rescission motion.

Mayor of Randwick Philipa Veitch spoke to City Hub, saying “no action will be taken at this time because of the rescission motion. We’ll just have to wait for the outcome.”

“But I’m hopeful that everyone will vote the same way,” she continued. 

Run-on effects

In July, Health Minister Ryan Park decided that high-complexity surgeries, including cardiac bypass, would only be performed at Westmead Children’s Hospital. Now, surgeons will only be able to perform low-risk surgeries at the children’s hospital in Randwick. 

SCH has a very close association with the Royal Hospital for Women, which is concerning for the limited emergency services that can be provided to children born with heart defects. A cardiac surgical program is also crucial for supporting patients with trauma, cancer and ENT (ear, nose, throat), as well as sick and vulnerable patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). 

The children’s hospitals at Westmead and Randwick were merged into the Sydney Children’s Network in 2010. Two years later, the network was advised to move all paediatric cardiac surgery to Westmead, with objections to offering the procedure at two sites. 

Dr Susan Russell, Former Chair of the SCH Medical Staff Council, has stated that “the removal of cardiac services from SCH Randwick will have a negative flow-on effect to the hospital in general where other specialty services, the ability to train and educate medical students and doctors, nurses, allied, administrative and support health services staff all to be negatively affected to the point where SCH Randwick could be in danger of losing its tertiary hospital status.” 

Mayor Veitch also noted that cardiac surgeries often occur in last minute circumstances. There is a 32km difference (with tolls) between the Westmead and Randwick children’s hospitals with an average travel time of 40 minutes. Without tolls, it’s 36km, and an hour of travel to manage in an emergency situation. 

“You might be a patient at Randwick and then things go downhill, and all of a sudden, you can’t access this life-saving surgery.”

“You would have to either go over to Westmead or they would have to pull a surgeon out and get them over here.”

SCH staff wrote a letter to Health Minister Ryan Park, saying they were “extremely saddened” by his decision. 

“Your decision to stop cardiac surgery is going to put children’s lives at risk,” the letter reads.