2 July 2008

Maternity Review More Of The Same

“There’s no point reviewing Wellington maternity services again unless something will actually be done to improve them, says New Zealand First health spokeperson Barbara Stewart.

“The Wellington coroner identified areas of concern three years ago and at the time said that there was a deeper, systemic problem in maternity care.

“If the latest exercise merely confirms that Capital and Coast are not responsible for the deaths of babies delivered by independent midwives on the hospital’s premises we’ll be no further ahead.

“It is probably outside their brief but If the panel of expert advisers came up with something sensible such as agreeing with the New Zealand Medical Association’s suggestion that primary maternity services be contracted to PHOs so that GPs could become involved again, then they might earn their pay.

“Otherwise the status quo will remain. Those in charge will keep burying their heads in the sand, hoping that optimistic press releases and reviews will make the shortage of midwives and the inherent dangers in the system go away,” said Mrs Stewart.

ENDS

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