Following a decision by a major obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Taitung County in February to stop delivering babies, four doctors are now responsible for delivering all of the county’s babies.
The Chang Chung-ching Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic’s (張崇晉婦產科) decision has left only four of 16 obstetricians and gynecologists in the county available to deliver babies — two at the Taitung Mackay Memorial Hospital and two at the Taitung Christian Hospital.
Taitung County saw 2,057 births in 2008, but the number fell below 1,500 for the first time last year as the county saw only 1,484 births, Taitung County Government statistics showed.
Of those births, 1,374 occurred at a hospital or clinic, Health Promotion Administration (HPA) statistics showed.
The Taitung Christian Hospital was responsible for 46 percent of deliveries and two doctors at the Chang Chung-ching Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic — Chang Chung-ching (張崇晉) and Wu Po-lin (吳博霖) — assisted in 449, or 33 percent.
Proportionally speaking, there are enough obstetricians and gynecologists in Taiwan for the entire population, Taitung Public Health Bureau Medical Affairs Section head Su Mei-chu (蘇美珠) said.
However, Taitung’s transportation is inconvenient and its birthrate has been decreasing by the year, Su said, adding that obstetrics and gynecology is a high-risk medical branch.
It is difficult to find obstetricians and gynecologists willing to deliver babies in Taitung, she said, adding that the county’s hospitals have long been hiring, but have received no applications.
HPA statistics showed that Chang and Wu were responsible for many deliveries in the county over the past few decades and the effect of the clinic’s decision has yet to be reflected in the data, Su said.
The bureau would invite all hospitals and clinics in the county with obstetrics and gynecology departments to enter into discussions and propose solutions before asking the Ministry of Health and Welfare for more doctors, Su said.
When the Chang Chung-ching Clinic in December last year in a notice said it was to stop delivering babies in February, it made him and his wife panic, a Taitung resident nicknamed A-wei (阿偉) said.
They had to get used to a new doctor and have for that reason decided not to have another child, he said.
People distrust the obstetrics and gynecology providers in the region, a resident of the county’s Guanshan Township (關山) surnamed Huang (黃) said, adding that women have become hesitant to have children.
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