The future of maternity care in the Southern DHB's Central Lakes will be decided in November.
File photo. Photo: 123RF
The board has been consulting on where to locate primary birthing units and maternity hubs in Central Otago and Wānaka since February.
At present there are units in Queenstown and Alexandra supported by hubs in Wānaka and Ranfurly, but it's clear the situation is no longer working for expectant mothers and residents of the area.
Four options are on the table: the first would be a new unit in Cromwell, the second was a unit in Clyde at the existing Dunstan Hospital, the third would be two units - one in Wānaka and keeping the existing unit at Charlotte Jean Maternity Hospital in Alexandra, and lastly a new unit in Wānaka and establishing the unit at Clyde.
A public meeting was held in Wānaka this morning, where the board outlined the possibilities and was met by mothers upset and concerned that their birthing experiences would be replicated if a facility was not established in the town and not done soon enough.
Almost two-thirds of responses to the consultation came from Wānaka and Hawea, and most wanted two primary birthing units, with Charlotte Jean retained and a new unit built in Wānaka.
Wānaka mother Kristi James told the meeting the delays meant Russian Roulette was now being played with the lives of mothers and their children in the area.
"I had my baby on the floor of my midwife's office ... nobody should have to do that. It's just so wrong. That's so, so wrong," she said.
"So many women are suffering. They've had their babies in places that aren't fit for purpose and what's it going to take. It's Russian Roulette, how much longer are we going to let this happen. We have to do something. It's not good enough, it's not fair and it's not sustainable. Let's make a change ... please don't let somebody die."
Southern DHB general manager of primary care and population health Mary Cleary Lyons said no decisions had been made yet.
"We have to take cost and affordability into account, but this isn't a purely cost exercise because if it was a cost exercise then this discussion wouldn't even be on the table," she told the meeting.
"Supporting rural birthing is always going to cost more, but it's about doing what's right for communities and doing that in a way that's sustainable and as cost effective as we can make it. So all those factors will come into play but you've given us an awful lot to think about."
Cleary Lyons said it was clear a change needed to happen, but none of the options on the table were maintaining the status quo.
Emma Bilous, who established the first midwifery practice in Wānaka in the 90s, said it had been a long wait for better facilities for the community.
"When we look at the service specifications, in 2003 we passed those numbers that say we should have a birthing facility within an hour of here in Wānaka. So we've been waiting 17 years at this point," she said.
"My hope is that my children who are now 23 and 21 will have a place to have their babies so they don't have to leave home to do it. I didn't think I'd ever have to be in this position, I thought it would have happened a long time ago."
Its estimated about 380 births occur in the area with 160 of those in Wānaka.
A paper with a recommended option would now be drafted before going to the board for a decision in November.