The fetal medicine unit at Canberra's women's and children's hospital lost its training accreditation eight months ago, with more details about the loss revealed in the Assembly.
The unit lost its training accreditation from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians due to specialist shortfalls in the department at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children.
Health authorities have attempted to hire new sub-specialists on multiple occasions but have been unsuccessful. A number of staff in the department have also taken personal leave.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith told the Assembly two staff members had recently left the unit, one staff member was on long service leave, one was on leave without pay and one was working reduced hours.
There are fears more staff will leave and Ms Stephen-Smith told the Assembly last week there were discussions with remaining specialists about their employment with Canberra Health Services.
Ms Stephen-Smith said several recruitment rounds had failed to find any suitable candidates. She said there had only been one applicant but that person did not have the required qualifications.
Opposition health spokeswoman Leanne Castley moved a motion in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday afternoon which called on the government to provide information about the suspension.
Ms Castley called for the government to table a report from the college about the suspension, provide information on how many applicants have applied for the sub-specialist roles and how many staff have left or reduced their hours.
"There is a lack of transparency around why CHS have been unable to hire staff for almost eight months and how many staff have applied," Ms Castley said.
"The Minister has made no mention of any report that the college provided to CHS about the suspension of training accreditation and a lack of consistent numbers about the extent of staff leaving, reducing their hours or on leave since August 31.
"This is a chance for the minister to come clean to Canberrans so we can understand what is going on in this crucial department for women with complex pregnancies."
Ms Stephen-Smith moved amendments to the motion. She instead agreed to table a letter from the college about the loss of accreditation. She also agreed to provide an update by the final sitting day of the year about the unit's training accreditation.
The Health Minister said there was no report by the college around the loss of accreditation, there was only a letter sent to the clinical director of obstetrics and gynaecology in July last year.
The letter said the accreditation was suspended as staff within the unit said they were unable to support a trainee due to "unforeseeable circumstances".
The letter said this would be suspended for up to 24 months unless there were changes.
Health authorities have said accreditation has not been lost but "temporarily suspended" and Ms Stephen-Smith also defended this in the Assembly on Wednesday.
"Training accreditation has not been lost but suspended temporarily, while Canberra Health Services put strategies in place to support staff," she said.
"This is an important difference and Canberra Health Services is working hard to rebuild the unit and support an effective training new training environment in the FMU."
There was one person receiving training in the unit prior to the loss of accreditation. That person is now receiving training elsewhere.
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