12-week scans not available in region
A shortage of sonographers has created a long waiting list for pregnant women wanting scans, increasing stress levels and resulting in many going outside Taranaki for their tests.
New Plymouth couple Jessica and Shaan Caskey went to Whanganui two weeks ago for a dating scan after they gave up on getting one in their home town.
‘‘We were worried anyway because we didn’t know when we would be due and we wanted the Down Syndrome scan. Not knowing when we were due put us more on edge,’’ Jessica said.
They got into Whanganui straight away and had both scans done.
The 12-week Nuchal Translucency (NT) scan, which helps to assess whether or not a baby is likely to have Down syndrome, has never been provided by the Taranaki DHB and there are no private providers in the region.
And there is currently a three or four week wait for other routine obstetric ultrasound scans due to a shortage of sonographers.
The Caskeys lost a baby last year and so while they were excited, they were anxious and aware things could go wrong.
Jessica is now 15 weeks and is ‘‘hopeful’’ she can get her 20 week scan on time.
When Stratford mum Jamie Jeffreys was pregnant with her second child at the end of 2016, she had to go to Whanganui for a scan.
Jeffreys and her husband had to take time off work and the really long day was made worse because she wasn’t feeling well, she said.
‘‘That Whanganui experience really upset me. Sitting there for hours to get one measurement. She had me in there for one minute.
‘‘The woman said she was only there to get a measurement and couldn’t get a photo. It would have been nice to have had a picture of the baby.’’
Jeffreys had problems with the pregnancy and lost the baby at 18 weeks, she said.
When she fell pregnant again last year she went private for her 12-week scan. Earlier in the pregnancy she had problems with bleeding, but couldn’t get a scan straight away. ‘‘I had to wait for a week. I was pretty stressed out.’’
She is now 22 weeks pregnant, but is still waiting for her 20-week scan, she said.
‘‘I’ve heard that wait is huge. I have no idea when that’s going to happen. It’s so frustrating.
‘‘My concern is if there is something wrong with this baby I might not find out until it’s too late. I’m just really nervous about this pregnancy.’’
New Plymouth woman Zara Davy was told she couldn’t have her 12 week scan in New Plymouth, so didn’t have one. By the time she found out she could have gone to Whanganui it was too late.
She is now waiting for her 20 week scan, but she will be 27 or 28 weeks before she even gets a date, she said. ‘‘I was told there were 10 people on the list before me, so I won’t get a date until the end of March. ’’
Taranaki District Health Board chief operating officer Gillian Campbell said there was only one New Plymouth obstetrician who can provide the NT service but this is largely to her own private patients.
Pregnant women who want this scan are referred to to private providers in Whanganui, Palmerston North or Hamilton.
‘‘We acknowledge that travelling outside Taranaki for the scan is inconvenient for pregnant women and their family/wha¯ nau but this is not an easy fix. There is a resident Senior Medical Officer at Taranaki DHB who is exploring the possibility of providing this service privately in Taranaki.’’
There is currently a three to four week wait for routine obstetric ultrasound scans, Campbell said.
‘‘We understand this is of concern to pregnant women and we want to reassure them we are doing all we can so women are seen around the 20-week timeframe.
‘‘Unfortunately the on-going issue of a shortage of sonographers nationally is having an impact and as such we have been unable to cover sonographer maternity leave despite advertising for a permanent full-time replacement.
‘‘We have just offered a position to an overseas sonographer.’’
As well as the shortage issue, the TDHB is experiencing higher numbers of acute urgent referrals for both obstetric and nonobstetric ultra sounds scans, which puts more pressure on the DHB’s ultrasound scan service. However, priority must also be given to cancer patient diagnostic US scans, as well as acute inpatient and Emergency Department US referrals.