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The board today approved a recommendation to establish a primary delivery unit at Dunstan Hospital, near Clyde, and a second one in Wānaka.
The Wānaka facility, and indeed the entire proposal, relies on DHB working with local midwives to ensure units are supported.
If the proposal is not viable, Southern DHB may still opt for a single delivery unit, either at Dunstan Hospital or in nearby Cromwell.
The decision is made after months of consultation, largely focused on the lack of adequate facilities in Wānaka.
Currently, there are units in Queenstown and Alexandra, supported by centers in Wānaka and Ranfurly, but it is clear that the situation is no longer working for pregnant women and residents of the area.
It is estimated that around 380 births occur in the area, 160 of them in Wānaka.
At a public meeting in September, Wānaka’s mother, Kristi James, said the delays meant that Russian roulette was now being played with the lives of mothers and their children in the area.
“I had my baby on the floor of my midwife’s office … no one should have to do that. It’s so bad. That’s so, so bad,” she said.
“So many women are suffering. They have had their babies in places that are not suitable for their purpose and what is going to be needed. It is Russian roulette, how much longer are we going to let this happen? We have to do something; good enough, it’s not fair and it’s not sustainable.
“Let’s make a change … please don’t let anyone die.”
At today’s board meeting, he noted that establishing two units for the area would require an operating model of collaboration with local midwives, to ensure the units were sustainable with the number of births projected in the region.
The board agreed that it was worth exploring, given the distance women and families in Wānaka need to travel to the closest birthing unit in the region, currently 85 kilometers away in Alexandra.
Mary Cleary Lyons, DHB Southern Population and Primary Health Director General, said the central Otago-Wānaka area was unique in New Zealand when it came to delivering maternity services given its distance from secondary services in such a challenging geography.
“This has meant that we have needed to explore creative solutions, as we found the right balance between providing more facilities and ensuring those facilities are used well and are sustainable,” he said.
The details of any arrangements had not yet been agreed, but one option could involve collaborating with a community trust or Wānaka healthcare provider, and leading the maternity care midwives collaboratively, working as a team to provide care.
Southern DHB Director of Midwifery Heather La Dell said the establishment of a primary delivery unit at Dunstan Hospital provided an opportunity to develop a modern, purpose-built facility with immediate access for helicopter transfer.
“We appreciate the enormous contribution of Charlotte Jean’s maternity team [Hospital, in Alexandra], for many years, and I heard that many women appreciated the supportive environment there. We sincerely thank his team for their professionalism as we have worked through this consultation process with the community, “he said.
“We now have the opportunity to design services for the future. We believe that the development of these two units in these locations better meets the needs of the community in relation to the priorities that have been identified.”
DHB received more than 500 written submissions and survey responses during the consultation period, which began in February.
