Pregnant women in Victoria's second-largest city will have to find a new hospital after Epworth HealthCare confirmed plans to close its maternity service in Geelong.
The decision came after the hospital in November announced a proposal to close the unit, citing staff shortages in nursing and midwifery.
"I'm extremely saddened by having to share this news with you ... I'm devastated," Epworth executive general manager Leonie Lloyd told hospital staff, executives and corporate representatives on Thursday.
The unit will close at the end of March, a month later than anticipated, and about 100 women booked in after then will be asked to find another provider.
"We are very aware that this will be a challenging time for each of these women and their families and we are committed to supporting them through this period," the hospital said in a statement.
Greater Geelong, Victoria's second-largest city, has a population of 274,647 and is forecast to grow to 393,216 by 2041.
"We have lots of patients wanting to come our way but we just do not have a safe staffing level to be able to support that group of women and their families into the future," Ms Lloyd said.
In January, Liberal senator Sarah Henderson referred Epworth to the consumer watchdog over the proposed closure.
"Epworth HealthCare has to date failed to respond to a wide range of proposed solutions which evidences that its consultation phase is nothing more than a sham," Senator Henderson wrote.
Epworth Group interim chief executive Cameron Fuller said feedback had been carefully considered in the two-month consultation.
He said Epworth Geelong had 14 full-time equivalent roles available across its maternity service, a vacancy rate of 44 per cent.
"We would like to acknowledge and thank our existing Epworth Geelong midwifery staff who have reached out during this time to express interest in increasing their hours or moving to our permanent roster," Mr Fuller said.
"Even with these potential additions, we would still have a 35 per cent vacancy."
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation said the decision represented a missed opportunity to build and invest in the hospital's workforce.
"Epworth Geelong is competing in a tight midwifery workforce market but has displayed little initiative in investing in its midwifery workforce," acting secretary Paul Gilbert said.
The union said it would continue to support its members until the service closed, including negotiating redundancies and helping to find other work.
Victorian Liberal MP Georgie Crozier said the closure highlighted the issue of ongoing workforce shortages within private and public maternity services.
"These issues are real," she said.
A Victorian government spokeswoman said the state was recruiting an extra 17,000 nurses and midwives and building a new Barwon Women's and Children's Hospital with world-class maternity services.
"This is a very difficult time for expectant parents, but we are confident Geelong's existing health services have the capacity and resources to ensure the continuation of safe maternity services for families in the region," she said.
