Obstetric epidural services in rural South Australia

A survey of sixty South Australian country hospitals found that 35 units had more than 25 deliveries per year (total deliveries 4,247, which is 21.5% of total live births in South Australia during 1989). Twenty-five of these units had an epidural service (71%) and the overall epidural rate was 16.7%, 9.5% provided by general practitioner anaesthetists and 7.2% by specialists. General practitioner anaesthetists were involved more in the medium-sized units (50-200 deliveries per year), whereas specialists provided more services in the larger regional units and the small units as visitors. The epidural rate varied between 6-20% depending on the size of the unit. Most country regions in South Australia have reasonable access to an epidural service. The more geographically isolated areas are being serviced by general practitioner anaesthetists.