Trust sees threat in maternity review

A Winton-based medical trust has called on support from Venture Southland to help keep its maternity centre from being shut down.

The Central Southland Hospital Charitable Trust, which runs the Winton Maternity Centre, has asked Venture to compile a report that outlines the need for the centre to remain open.

The centre's operating costs, along with all other rural maternity centres in Southland and Otago, are under review by the Southern District Health Board as it seeks to address issues raised by rural midwives about financial concerns.

Trust chairman Colin Ballantyne said the centre was under threat in the review because the amount of births it accommodated each year was below the threshold to be categorised as a rural maternity provider.

About 170 babies were born in the centre each year, but technically it needed 200 to receive funding from the health board and if that was cut it would be forced to close, he said.

Mr Ballantyne believed it was unlikely the centre would lose its funding, but the trust wanted the report as backup if the health board's review went against it, he said.

"It gets a bit one-sided when the DHB do things. They just see it from their side. They come in and tend to put a ruler across us (to rate our birth numbers) on a national level, but it is not as simple as that," he said.

The centre serviced mothers from Winton, Ohai, Mossburn, Otautau and even Riverton, but if its contract was lost it would force everyone to travel to Invercargill, Mr Ballantyne said.

Health board finance and funding general manager Robert Mackway-Jones, said in a statement that the review had been initiated by concerns raised by rural midwives about current and future work force challenges.

He did not comment about whether the Winton-based centre would keep its funding, but said the review would be looking at the financial sustainability of rural maternity centres.

The review is expected to continue through this month and will be consulted on by the board next month.

Venture community development and events group manager Rex Capil said the Venture report was expected to be completed in late October or early November.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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