Many babies in specialist care

High numbers of Taranaki babies are requiring specialist neonatal care.

The Taranaki District Health Board revealed at its hospital advisory committee meeting on Tuesday that the specialist neo-natal unit at Taranaki Base Hospital is experiencing more than 100 per cent occupancy.

Steve Berendsen, hospital services manager said yesterday that for the most part the babies were not critically ill.

More seriously ill babies were taken to larger tertiary hospitals for higher-level care.

Although the July statistics showed an occupancy rate of 119 per cent in the neo natal unit, not all of the babies needed to be in incubators.

The extra babies were accommodated in spare ward space.

"The neo-natal staff are very good at flexing up and down with what can be a varied workload," Mr Berendsen said.

At the Monday meeting, held in Stratford this month, committee member Karen Eagles asked hospitals general manager Joy Farley how baby services were coping with the increasing numbers of babies being born in Taranaki.

"Are there plans to look at how to cope with this?" Mrs Eagles asked.

Ms Farley said that the birth rate in Taranaki was currently about 1500 a year, so had still not reached the boom levels of 10 years ago when 1800 babies a year were being born.

The Taranaki facilities were developed to cope with 1800 a year, so there was still capacity, Ms Farley said.

And there was not expected to be a similar explosion in coming years because the population was generally ageing.

Mrs Eagles said she would keep a watching brief on the situation.

Meanwhile, Taranaki's public hospital wards, in New Plymouth and Hawera, experienced an unusually quiet winter, Ms Farley said.

While still busy, the hospitals had not experienced the heavy influx normally experienced in winter.

The number of hospital beds occupied was an average 85 per cent, Ms Farley said.

- © Fairfax NZ News