Problems at Canberra Hospital denied

The ACT government has defended an exodus of obstetricians from Canberra Hospital amid claims of a senior doctor shortage and workplace bullying.

The hospital has lost nine obstetricians over the past 13 months and has been rocked by allegations senior staff pushed for a late-term abortion for a baby later born healthy, the ABC reports.

The Royal College of Obstetricians says doctors have reported a culture of poor management and bullying as well as lack of senior medical staff at the hospital.

They'd since "voted with their feet", the college's Andrew Foote said.

The hospital and ACT Health have also been accused of trying to hide medical blunders.

The most explosive claims centres around the case of an expecting mother in 2008.

Just five weeks into her pregnancy, Fiona Vanderhook was told by a trainee doctor that she had lost her baby and should terminate using a drug called misoprostol.

Ms Vanderhook took misoprostol but it failed and later tests showed the baby was still alive, the ABC reported.

Scans then revealed the foetus had developed fluid on the brain — most likely caused by Ms Vanderhook taking the termination drug.

Later six separate specialists told Ms Vanderhook her baby appeared to be developing normally and had every chance of being born healthy.

But senior staff at Canberra Hospital continued to push for the baby to be terminated, even as late as 31 weeks into the pregnancy.

Ms Vanderhook’s lawyer told ABC that the hospital’s advice may have come amid fears of a costly malpractice suit.

"Away would go the litigation that might in the event of serious deformities produce a multi-million dollar verdict," he said.

Ms Vanderhook claims the clinical notes she had requested in order to pursue legal action had been censored.

But ACT Health acting chief executive Peggy Brown rejected "any sort of culture that says we cover up".

Of the four obstetrician registrars to recently leave the hospital, ACT Health said three left for family reasons and the number of such departures were common.

But Dr Foote disagreed.

"It's unheard of," he said.

"When you've only half finished your training, you don't have a qualification ticket and you are at risk of never getting your qualification ticket if you walk away from a training program.

"So things must be a pretty difficult for a registrar to do that."

Dr Brown said the department had not received any formal complaints.