7. MARYAN STREET (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
What steps are now under way to improve maternity services in New Zealand?
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Health) Link to this
The Ministry of Health is currently leading discussions with leaders in the maternity sector, including the College of Midwives, the New Zealand Medical Association, the Paediatric Society, and many others. The talks are focused on achieving real improvements in maternity services through better coordination between lead maternity carers, primary health organisations, and hospital services.
I have seen at least two. One proposal calls for a review of maternity services; another proposal says that a review would be a waste of time and that the Government should instead encourage better coordination within maternity care. The problem is that both of these proposals come from the National Party. The first is from Tony Ryall and the second is from obstetrician and gynaecologist Paul Hutchison.
Dr Jackie BlueHow many more dead or brain-damaged babies will there have to be before the Government realises that there is a problem with the system?
A time-consuming review would stall the real progress that is being made in discussions led by the Ministry of Health. The ministry and the maternity sector are taking this approach because they know that action is needed now, not after a drawn-out review process. Further, of the 600 or thereabouts neonatal deaths that occur in New Zealand, that number has fallen sharply over recent decades.
Barbara StewartDoes the national strategy for the development and retention of the medical workforce in New Zealand, which the Minister confirmed existed, during question time last week, include ensuring that an adequate number of midwives is employed by each district health board; if not, when will these midwife shortages become the responsibility of the Minister, if at all?
Midwife shortages, to the extent that they exist, are my responsibility now. There is an excess of midwives in parts of the country, and a shortage in other parts. Both of them are relatively minor. Both of them need constant attention.
Why is the Minister’s committee looking to improve maternity data collection by proposing to collect information only on maternity deaths, but not on brain damage or other sad birth outcomes in live babies?