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The Age
02-08-2025
- Health
- The Age
Health funding Victoria: Dandenong Hospital planning to redirect riskier births
Dandenong Hospital obstetricians and midwives have been told, in documentation and staff meetings, that Monash Health plans to reduce the capacity and capability of the hospital's special care nursery in coming months. The current plan suggests women with medium-risk pregnancies will no longer birth at Dandenong Hospital. These women and newborns needing specialist care will instead be transferred to Monash Medical Centre in Clayton, Casey Hospital in Berwick, or another health service. Due to ongoing consultations, it is not yet known exactly how many midwifery roles will be relocated from Dandenong to Clayton, but staff at Monash Medical Centre have been told many new positions will be created there. Dandenong Hospital has previously catered for premature and unwell babies born at 34 weeks. Under the current proposal, Dandenong would continue to care for low-risk women and newborns. In Australia, a moderate-risk pregnancy is generally categorised as a mother having a history of health complications or developing one during pregnancy such as diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. These women generally require more frequent check-ups, a personalised care plan and their babies may need additional care when born. A baby born at 34 weeks is considered to be a late preterm infant. These babies may require a short stay in a special care nursery to assist with things like maintaining their body temperature. One midwifery source with links to Dandenong Hospital, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to speak publicly, said she had regularly cared for refugees with complex needs and little to no English. Some were survivors of female genital mutilation, they said, and some walked through the hospital doors for the first time without any family members – only to deliver their baby less than an hour later. 'Could you get a more vulnerable group of women? Probably not,' the midwifery source said. 'These women deserve gold standard, midwifery-led continuity of care in a local community, culturally attuned to their needs.' A second midwifery source described the changes as cuts. Loading The union also says that, as of last week, Monash Health has not consulted with Victoria's Paediatric Infant Perinatal Emergency Retrieval (PIPER) service, which transports women and neonates across the state as required. ANMF state secretary Maddy Harradence, who took over from long-serving secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick last month, said her members had been fighting for years to prevent the relocation of medium-risk birthing and neonatal services to Casey Hospital. 'Women who were planning to have their baby at Dandenong Hospital will be distressed at the thought of having to relocate further away from home for their birthing needs or to visit their unwell baby who could have been cared for close to home at Dandenong Hospital,' Harradence said. The Monash Health spokesperson said Dandenong would continue to provide excellent maternity and newborn services for the local community. 'Under our proposal, higher risk pregnancies and newborns who require specialist care will be managed at Casey Hospital or Monash Medical Centre and Monash Children's Hospital, where the necessary expertise and resources are concentrated to ensure the safest possible outcomes for mothers and babies.' Monash Health is not the first health service looking to consolidate its services. Earlier this year, this masthead revealed management at Eastern Health wanted Maroondah Hospital to drop speciality paediatric services in favour of an expanded paediatrics hub at sister hospital Box Hill. The government stepped in to block the proposal after the reporting. A spokesperson for Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the proposals had been supported by Safer Care Victoria. '[They] involve full consultation, no budget cuts or impact on frontline staff.' While the May budget handed a record $31 billion spending to Victoria's health system, hospitals are also being asked by the health department to find efficiencies where they can. Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the proposed changes to Dandenong Hospital's special care nursery would lead to worse outcomes for some of Victoria's most vulnerable women. 'Labor can't manage money, can't manage health and it's Victorians who are paying the price.'
Time of India
31-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
US expanding military ties with India, says US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, backs deeper QUAD role
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth (AP) US defence secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday said the United States is expanding its security partnership with India, calling for deeper cooperation within the QUAD alliance to counter growing threats in the Indo-Pacific. 'We're also expanding our security partnership with India through robust military exercises like Tiger Triumph,' Hegseth said. 'And we're also amplifying cooperation within the Quad and other multilateral frameworks.' Also read: US warns China is 'preparing' to use military force in Asia Hegseth made clear that the US sees logistical integration among QUAD partners as a key step forward. 'Within the Quad, we're also leading an initiative called the Indo Pacific Logistics Network, enabling QUAD partners to leverage shared logistics capabilities in the Indo Pacific,' he said. 'You know, they say rookies talk strategy, pros talk logistics.' LIVE: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue 2025 in Singapore. The Defence Secretary's remarks come amid a broader push by the Trump administration to reinforce its strategic footprint in the Indo-Pacific and to assure allies of America's commitment to countering China's military ambitions, particularly regarding Taiwan. 'These exercises enhance our lethality while improving our readiness to respond at a moment's notice,' Hegseth added, referencing joint military drills like Towson Sabre with Australia and Cobra Gold in Thailand. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo He also said that the US-led Partnership for Indo Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPER), which involves 14 allies and partners collaborating with the private sector to bolster industrial and defence supply chains. 'I'm proud to announce the first PIPER project,' Hegseth said. 'It plans to establish repair capability and capacity for P8 radar systems in Australia… \[and] will also enable Indo Pacific allies and partners operating the aircraft, including New Zealand and the Republic of Korea, to repair aircraft within the region.' A second PIPER initiative will create standards for small unmanned aerial systems and increase supply chain resilience for their critical components. Hegseth described these steps as essential to deterring adversaries and ensuring that multinational forces have sustained combat support. 'It's one thing for an adversary to see multinational forces operating together in exercises,' he said. 'It's another thing entirely for that same country to see an integrated defence industrial base supporting those forces and standing ready to keep them in the fight.' Speaking in broader terms, Hegseth framed the Trump administration's foreign policy as pragmatic and focused on mutual self-interest. 'President Trump's approach is grounded in common sense and national interest... We are not here to pressure other countries to embrace or adopt policies or ideologies,' he told the summit. 'We are all sovereign nations.' He further stressed the importance of like-minded allies taking more responsibility for regional defence. 'Ultimately, a strong, resolute and capable network of allies and partners is our key strategic advantage,' Hegseth said. 'China envies what we have together.'
