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86 births at WhakatΔne Hospital in the first eight months of the year, compared with 650 a year when it had obstetric services
One in three transfers to Tauranga were emergencies
Midwives say its put huge stress on them and whΔnau
Health NZ is recruiting specialists and plans to restart services at WhakatΔne Hospital early next year
With no obstetricians left in Eastern Bay of Plenty, hundreds of pregnant women have been forced to travel to Tauranga Hospital to give birth this year - a third of them due to emergency situations.
Data obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act shows there were just 86 babies born at WhakatΔne Hospital since it lost its specialist services in January, compared with 650 births the year before.
Health NZ said it was on track to restore full obstetric and gynaecology services to WhakatΔne by April next year, but midwives have said the lack of back-up continues to put extra pressure on them and whΔnau across the region.
ΕpΕtiki based midwife Kellee Moore said for some clients, it was more than three hours to get to Tauranga by road - a fact that was always on her mind when dealing with situations like a woman with a bleed at 35 weeks.
"I tried to ring the obstetrician but they were in theatre.
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