Maternity Services Contract With St George’s Hospital To End

Fionnagh Dougan, National Director, Hospital and Specialist Services has confirmed an agreement has been reached between St George’s Hospital and Te Whatu Ora that its maternity services contract will end on June 30, 2023.

“We would like to thank St George’s Hospital maternity service for their dedication to our community over the years. I know many people in Christchurch have given birth, had a post-natal stay or were born at St Georges themselves and that it has a fond place in the hearts of many,” says Fionnagh Dougan.

“We want to reassure whānau expecting the arrival of a baby in Christchurch that they will always receive the care and support that they need at this special time in their lives, whether that is through our primary birthing units in Rolleston and Rangiora or Christchurch Women’s Hospital. Additionally, our new central city birthing unit in Christchurch, Kurawaka: Waipapa, is due to open in late 2023.”

The new Oromairaki Maternity Unit at the Toka Hāpai (Selwyn Health Hub) opened last year, and construction is well underway on Kurawaka: Waipapa, our new central city birthing unit which will have four birthing rooms, 20 post-natal rooms, two whānau rooms, an education room and six assessment rooms.

“If you are currently hapū and have any concerns, please reach out to your lead maternity carer.”

“While it had been intended that Kurawaka: Waipapa would reduce demand on Christchurch Women’s hospital and that the arrangement with St George’s would continue as a part of the broad offering to whānau in Christchurch, it has become clear through our ongoing discussions that safe staffing and workforce constraints due to the national midwifery shortage mean the service at St George’s is not sustainable.”

“Our maternity service has already picked up care for many of the births and postnatal stays that have traditionally taken place at St George’s and only 10 births and 34 postnatal transfers on average each month have been taking place there recently. To put that in context, over 6000 babies are born in Canterbury each year.”

More information about our birthing options in Canterbury can be found here.

“We hold a strong and valued relationship with the team at St George’s Hospital and we look forward to continuing our partnership through their provision of some hospital and specialist services in the Canterbury region.”

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