Birth unit rescued

11.45am

Northland maternity services are again in the spotlight with confirmation that Northland Health has considered closing Dargaville Hospital maternity unit for in-stay care.

However, a "distressing" few days for Dargaville midwives and pregnant mothers has ended with news that the town's threatened maternity unit will remain open.

The possible closure of the unit came just weeks after Caesarean sections, inducing pregnant mothers and after-hours surgery, were halted at Kaitaia Hospital.

A deal has since been struck to reintroduce Caesarean sections and after-hours surgery at Kaitaia, but inducements of pregnant mums are still on the blacklist.

The Northland District Health Board on Friday told staff from the maternity unit at Dargaville Hospital and independent midwives that the unit may have to close for in-stay care because of the difficulty in attracting permanent staff.

The DHB had struggled to find a full-time midwife for the unit since one of the two full-time midwives died late last year.

Independent midwives had provided cover in the unit, but they told the DHB on Friday that they could no longer do so, DHB communication manager Luke Worth said.

The independent midwives had had to provide the cover while carrying out their own private practices and were becoming too exhausted fulfilling both roles.

Mr Worth said DHB representatives immediately went to Dargaville to meet the midwives and unit staff, and to seek a solution.

He said the midwives agreed not to withdraw their cover until this Friday, and they were told that closing the unit was one of several options after that date.

But Mr Worth said yesterday a permanent midwife for the unit had now been employed, and would move from Auckland to Dargaville shortly.

Closure of the unit would be the final option and would be undertaken only if Northland Health had continued to be unable to staff the unit at the required level, he said.

Dargaville midwife Denise Clark said the possibility of the unit closing had been distressing for midwives and pregnant mothers in the town.

"It was a bumptious slap in the face on Friday when we'd turned up at a meeting to see what could be done and were told the unit would simply be closed," Ms Clark said.

But, everyone would be delighted that the unit would remain open, she said.

If the unit had closed, pregnant mothers would have had to travel up to 40 minutes by road to Whangarei Hospital to give birth.

She was amazed that only a few days after saying a permanent midwife could not be found for the unit, one had been hired.

Mr Worth said there was a worldwide shortage of midwives, along with most other medical professionals, and it was never easy to attract staff to Northland.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)

nzherald.co.nz/hospitals