Ginny Andersen. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Labour MP Ginny Andersen says the taxpayer has been footing the bill for an empty birthing centre in the Hutt Valley for nearly two years.
A plan to turn the old Te Awakairangi Birthing Centre into a special care unit was developed when Labour was in power and was heavily supported by then-MP Chris Bishop.
The birthing centre - which was owned by a charitable trust - was mothballed in 2021 due to a lack of funding.
Te Whatu Ora took over the facility and said it would reopen in 2023 as a first-of-its-kind transitional care unit for sick babies.
But that never happened.
"Not only is it not open and not operating but back then, when it was agreed, a lease was signed between Te Whatu Ora and the owner of that unit and so the taxpayer has been paying for the leasing of an empty unit - which is just a complete waste of government resources," Andersen said.
Andersen said she had been demanding answers from then-Health Minister Shane Reti for months.
Labour MP Ginny Andersen (file photo). Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
"I repeatedly asked questions of Shane Reti and got absolutely no answer.
"He even said that it wasn't in the public interest for people to have a straight answer which I found quite surprising.
"Only two days before he was no longer the Minister of Health we finally got the answer that it was empty and there were no plans for this to be used as a special care baby unit," Andersen said.
The lack of the unit meant families with unwell new-borns would have to travel to Newtown Hospital in Wellington City, Andersen said.
"The promise was made that - if this unit was open - it would enable whānau to stay together and for parents to be able to support each other when those difficult time comes when babies are needing special care," Andersen said.
It's far more than disappointing. Our maternity services are under huge strain right now and having this unit empty is simply unacceptable.
She said current Health Minister Simeon Brown had requested a briefing from the previous minister to explain why the unit had not gone ahead.
Te Whatu Ora Director of Operations, Jamie Duncan said the unit's inactivity had not reduced access to quality care for maternity patients in the Hutt Valley.
"Whānau across the region can feel confident that more complex neo-natal care will continue to be provided within a hospital setting and the quality of maternity care in the region will not be impacted by the decision not to progress with the unit.
"We know how vital the mother-newborn attachment is and will continue to work with Lead Maternity Carers (midwives) to make sure women continue to get access to the highest standard of maternity care," Duncan said.
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