St George’s Hospital Chief Executive Blair Roxborough receiving a 30,000 strong signed petition to keep the unit open.
St George’s Hospital’s maternity unit will remain open, for the duration of the existing contract with the Canterbury District Health Board its CEO has confirmed.
In March, staff were told of a possible closure.
However, St George’s Hospital Chief Executive Blair Roxborough said in a statement this afternoon, the unit will remain open.
“This contract is for the provision of publicly funded maternity services and runs until June next year.”
Roxborough said “Canterbury DHB has announced a new central city primary birthing unit due to open in early 2023. We continue to discuss the future of our maternity services contract – beyond June 2023 – with the Canterbury DHB.”
“While we will remain open for the next year, we still have to overcome the staffing challenges that led to the review. There remains a national shortage of midwives and we appreciate the input from our own maternity staff and Midwives Union MERAS on staffing suggestions. We are once again advertising for midwives.”
Roxborough said “I want to be very clear, that unless this staffing shortage is resolved in order to maintain safe maternity services, we will still have to further scale back birthing at St George’s, whilst retaining a post-natal service for mother, baby, and whānau.”
College Midwifery Advisor, Jacqui Anderson, says the ongoing erosion of women’s health and maternity in particular is very concerning.
“St George’s Hospital maternity services are highly regarded and greatly valued by the community, and we are grateful of the level of support for our maternity services.”
College of Midwives Advisor, Jacqui Anderson said the ongoing erosion of women’s health and maternity, in particular, is very concerning.
“We are very pleased with the decision today, however it’s troubling we are continuing to see that those in the health system with decision-making power, clearly disregard women as mothers, women as midwives and what is best for wāhine and whanau, long-term.”
She said “it’s incredibly disappointing that our midwifery-led maternity service is not being properly resourced and supported which affects our ability to deliver the world-leading model of care we have in place.”
Anderson said “it flies in the face of everything we know about choice, women’s confidence in those choices and how supporting those choices fosters the best outcomes for mothers and babies.”
