No comment on downgrade

St John New Zealand won’t comment on whether the impending downgrade of the Lumsden Maternity Centre will increase the number of callouts for its staff and volunteers based in northern Southland.

The Southern District Health Board has announced that a maternal and child hub that will replace the centre will be fullyequipped and accessible for urgent births, but in an emergency, there are processes in place that are activated.

‘‘For example, a second midwife is on call and protocols for urgent maternity transfers have been developed with St John and other primary and secondary care providers,’’ the DHB said.

When approached for comment about the downgrade, St John Southland-Otago district operations manager Pauline Buchanan said ‘‘members of the public should still dial 111 in the event of an emergency and St John will despatch the most appropriate response’’.

St John would not say how many ambulances, volunteers or paid paramedics there were in northern Southland.

St John ‘‘has no other comment to make on this issue,’’ Buchanan says in a statement.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand Southland assistant area manager Scott Lindsay said there were 700 fire and emergency personnel in Southland, about 630 of whom are volunteers.

‘‘We don’t expect the proposed changes at the Lumsden Maternity Centre to have much impact on us because if people dial 111, St Johns will dispatch the most appropriate response.’’

On Friday, the Southern District Health Board announced it was downgrading the Lumsden Maternity Centre to a maternal and child hub.