Maternity staff at the beleaguered Bacchus Marsh and Melton Hospital will have to undergo annual training and tests under a new agreement with the Victorian health department. 

This follows recent revelations that the death of seven babies at the hospital in 2013 and 2014 could have been avoided. 

The new guidelines are part of the 2015-16 statements of priorities (SoP), a formal funding and monitoring agreement between the health department and Djerriwarrh Health Services, which runs the hospital. 

The Djerriwarrh SoP states that all obstetricians and midwives should have their ability to perform foetal surveillance monitoring tested annually, with the first tests to be completed by December.

All staff overseeing the clinical supervision of health students and staff are also required to “identify gaps in their supervision skills”, with training to be developed according to staff needs by the end of 2015. 

Staff are also asked to develop “perinatal mortality and morbidity review processes” and review any such incidents quarterly from November onwards.

The government signed 78 agreements, which are updated annually, with all  Victorian hospitals and health services outlining key priorities and agreed performance targets.

A spokeswoman for the Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy said statements of priorities held health services to account against a range of measures.

“There have been a series of failures at Djerriwarrh Health Services, and one of the key issues that has been identified is the lack of adequate training,” Ms Hennessey said. 

“Djerriwarrh’s statement of priorities includes an expectation that extra training is undertaken.”