Bridges pledges $500k for birth unit in Wa¯naka
Wa¯naka will get a birthing unit with financial backing from the National Party if it gets into power, Simon Bridges says.
The Opposition leader was in Wa¯naka on Thursday, where he announced the party’s commitment to a primary birthing unit in the town, saying it was a ‘‘priority’’.
Women should not be giving birth on their midwife’s office floor, he said.
‘‘There have been many, many, many near misses, touch and go situations, of young mums and whether they make it to the birthing unit one hour away or 3.5 hours away to the hospital.’’
He pledged $500,000, if National was in government and he was prime minister, to support a new birthing facility, as well as promising ‘‘dollar for dollar’’ for funds a new community trust could raise.
Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean, of the National Party, said she had worked with the community to help form a charitable trust to undertake fundraising for the unit and work constructively with the Southern District Health Board.
‘‘We need their support to provide the services and work closely with midwives to make sure we get what is right for your community. Because this is a facility for you – mums, babies and families,’’ Dean said.
Midwife Morgan Weathington said ‘‘building a building was useful’’ but nationally there was a crisis with midwives not working.
‘‘We have the midwives – they just need to be paid enough to come back to work.’’
Midwives needed more pay, and how they were paid needed to be restructured, she said.
‘‘Here in a remote rural setting we don’t claim for 50 per cent of the births because the women need or want to birth in the city, so we don’t attend those births. It’s difficult to run a business when you don’t claim half or 70 per cent of the money.’’
The national funding model also needed clarity, Weathington said.
Kimberley Davis, who works with the Save Our Wa¯naka Midwives group, said she had advocated for the unit in Wa¯ naka but all rural communities should have one.
‘‘Promising a primary birthing unit for Wa¯ naka is one thing but the maternity care issue in New Zealand is a longstanding one and it’s one that affects all of New Zealand.
‘‘We don’t just need a pin in the map, a birthing unit here and a birthing unit there. We need an entire system that accounts for the diversity of birthing experiences.’’
Maternity services advocate Iona Bentley said facilities ‘‘are great, but if you can’t pay midwives properly you will have no-one to man them and that is a systemic issue’’.
‘‘Their working conditions are completely unacceptable in any other industry and it’s ridiculous they should be working for $7 an hour. You wouldn’t allow that in any other working environment so why is it happening to midwives?’’
‘‘There been . . . near many have misses young mums . . . of and they whether make it to the birthing unit one hour away or 3.5 hours away to the hospital.’’ Simon Opposition Bridges leader