New Location For Complex Care For Māmā And Pēpi

Newborn babies and mothers who require complex care will now be transported to Wellington instead of Hamilton or Auckland.

A new service agreement has been signed with Te Whatu Ora Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley to provide complex obstetrics and neonatal care. The decision was made in consultation with whānau, iwi and stakeholders.

Anne Aitcheson, Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti Interim Group Director of Operations, said that having one location for all complex maternal-fetal services is excellent news for Tairāwhiti.

“The previous arrangement where māmā could potentially go to one location, and pēpi another was obviously not the best for our people,” she said.

Under the previous agreement, complex obstetric care was provided by Te Toka Tu Mai Auckland and neonatal care by Te Whatu Ora Waikato.

“We can now guarantee māmā and pēpi will go to the same place to receive specialist care at a tertiary centre,” added Ms Aitcheson.

“Wellington is also much easier to get to from Gisborne with one flight, so the partnership makes sense and we are excited about the benefits for our people.

“We are very grateful to the Capital Coast and Hutt Valley team for taking on this agreement. We are also grateful to the Waikato team who have indicated their willingness to continue to provide neonatal support should that be needed.

“I would like also to take this opportunity to acknowledge our local midwives at this challenging time.

“We continue to be severely short-staffed at the moment and the team continues to provide an excellent service.”

For any questions regarding any planned procedures or this agreement, the community can email communications@tdh.org.nz.

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