A bigger service provider will take up residence at the Queen Elizabeth II Family Centre from 30 June. Photos: CMS.
The Canberra Mothercraft Society (CMS), which has supported generations of ACT families through difficult times, is making way at the Queen Elizabeth II Family Centre for a bigger service provider.
The CMS will move out of QEII by 30 June after deciding that it can no longer provide the scale and complexity of service required.
CMS President Fiona Smith du Toit said it was time to hand over the QEII baton to a new provider.
“In order to be effective into the future the CMS governance and diligence processes identified that QEII requires the resources of an organisation that enjoys a larger economy of scale to match the ever-increasing complexity of the contemporary health service delivery environment,” she said.
“Our focus has always been on what is best for the families of the ACT and we are satisfied that this is the right decision for the sake of those that need the service at QEII. We are confident that we will be handing over a service of the highest quality with an excellent international, national and local reputation.”
Toyroom activities at QEII.
Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris said the Government was working with CMS on a smooth transition and further announcements on a new provider would be made close to 30 June.
“Our shared priority is to ensure continuity of a quality service for families. For those families using the QEII service now and into the future, we are working together to achieve a seamless transition from one provider to another, thereby ensuring no disruption in the delivery of an available, accessible, acceptable and quality primary health care service at QEII,” she said.
MS Fitzharris said it was the end of an era but Canberra families would continue to be supported at QEII after 30 June.
“Throughout its long history, CMS has had a lasting and positive impact on the health and wellbeing of Canberra children and their families, through the QEII Family Centre in particular,” Ms Fitzharris said.
CMS is the Territory’s longest running health and social service provider.
CMS was established in 1926 and is the Territory’s longest running health and social service provider. It has run QEII since the facility opened in 1963, supporting families experiencing complex health and behavioural issues in the postnatal and early childhood periods.
Ms Smith du Toit said CMS was proud of its achievements through the QEII Family Centre and its staff.
“Increasingly reliable evidence supports our long-held belief that investment in the early years of a child’s life makes a difference to the long-term primary health and social outcomes for children and their families,” she said.
Ms Smith du Toit said it would continue to work with the Government and the incoming provider during the transition and hoped to see as many of CMS staff as possible continuing to do this important work at QEII.
CMS would continue to serve families after it ceases operations at QEII through its Community Development Programs.
The QEII Family Centre is a public hospital providing residential primary health care programs for families with young children (0-3 years) experiencing complex health and behavioural difficulties in the postnatal and early childhood periods.
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