Workshop on maternity services

A WORKSHOP to discuss a future districtwide maternity service will be held in Dunedin next month.

It follows the approval of the Southern District Health Board’s Primary Maternity Project plan in June, which says two primary maternity services in the catchment do not meet Ministry of Health guidelines for a DHBfunded facility.

There are seven primary maternity facilities in the South: Oamaru, Alexandra, Balclutha, Gore, Winton, Lumsden and Queenstown. Of those, Lumsden and Winton do not meet the national criteria. Both have had their contract funding renewed until September 2018 but question marks hang over their futures after that date.

Next month’s workshop would focus on developing principles to ‘‘guide decisionmaking’’, SDHB acting executive director, planning and funding, Liz Disney said.

The inviteonly workshop would be attended by community and SDHB clinicians, consumers and other stakeholders. Their inclusion was to ensure a wide range of perspectives and a ‘‘population and wholeof system approach’’ was considered.

Ms Disney said attendees were chosen for their knowledge about current services and opportunities for improving them in the future, and were yet to be confirmed.

She said that after the workshop, a document would be prepared for the SDHB to consider and then there would be consultation with the community and providers.

‘‘Primary maternity contracts have been extended to September 2018, allowing time for this consultation and any changes to be implemented.’’

tracey.roxburgh@odt.co.nz