Ōpōtiki birthing unit: Local MP presenting petition to Parliament

Waiariki MP Tamati Coffey will present a petition with more than 5000 signatures to Parliament. Photo / File

The Ōpōtiki community's roar of protest against the sudden closure of the town's only birthing unit is being heard in Parliament today.Waiariki MP Tāmati Coffey will present Parliament with a 5000-signature petition calling for the birthing unit to remain open and push for the Health Select Committee to consider the issue.

Last Friday, he met with concerned members of the community and was handed the petition.

Waiariki MP Tamati Coffey will present a petition calling for the birthing unit to remain open with more than 5000 signatures to Parliament. Photo / File

This follows a backlash from the community after the Bay of Plenty District Health Board announced Ōpōtiki Primary Maternity Unit services would be suspended from December 1 to March 30, 2020, due to inadequate staffing of midwives.

The DHB said the safety of women and babies was paramount in this decision, but "like the rest of the country we are facing a shortage of midwives and that's had an impact on our ability to keep operating safely in this timeframe".

Coffey said he was pleased to be able to act as an advocate for the community and hear their perspective.

Midwife Lisa Kelly said she was not surprised by the outpouring of support for the protest movement.

"The Ōpōtiki community is close-knit. Everyone knows somebody who has had a baby at the unit.

"We're glad that we had an MP that wanted to help out."

Aside from the concerns around the travel time for women based in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, she said it was important for Māori women to have their baby on ancestral land.

According to a written statement from the Bay of Plenty District Health Board, the DHB "acknowledged the significant concern from the Ōpōtiki community regarding recent changes to primary maternity services and OPINS nursing services in the past two weeks".

Interim Chief Executive Simon Everitt said he "appreciates the importance of
accessible health services especially for rural communities and wants to reassure the community that the DHB is doing everything it can to look at how services can be
restored.

"We have a team exploring a range of solutions to respond to issues and concerns raised by the community at last week's meeting like transport options, establishing a forum for the community to have their say in ongoing planning and exploring options for how we can respond to the midwifery shortages."