Changes to Whakatāne Obstetrics and Gynaecology Service

Several of our senior doctors are leaving, and we have been unable to find specialist doctors to replace them.  

No, this is not a cost saving measure.  We plan to resume full obstetric and maternity services at Whakatāne Hospital as soon as we can.

No, this change is in place only until we can employ the specialist doctors needed to provide secondary Obstetrics and Gynaecology services. We will provide regular updates.

An active recruitment process is underway now. We have strong interest from overseas doctors and will update when we can.  There is a process we must follow to ensure overseas doctors are able to work in New Zealand as well as support the doctors and their families to move to Whakatāne.

There are many reasons why our doctors have not stayed at Whakatāne.  Cath Cronin, our Deputy CE, is talking with the doctors to understand the issues so that we address any problems or concerns in future.

Tauranga is also experiencing some vacancies, and we do not have the specialised doctors to provide 24/7 cover for two hospitals.  The Tauranga service provides critical care but is also an essential training and supervision site for new specialist staff. New staff will need to be orientated here before we can return to full service in Whakatāne. The doctors from Tauranga will support Whakatāne by phone (remotely) out of hours to give advice to midwives, LMCs and GPs, plus will run clinics during the day for outpatient appointments and day surgery for gynaecology patients.

International Medical Graduates (doctors from overseas) require approval by the Medical Council of New Zealand, with oversight from the specialist college and then a period of supervision by a local specialist before they can gain full registration from the Medical Council and practice without supervision. 

Primary birthing services are provided by midwives and includes caring for low-risk pregnancies and conducting vaginal births.

Secondary birthing services are those which require obstetric consultation, or obstetric intervention such as instrumental birth, caesarean section, epidural access, induction of labour, management of major obstetric bleeding, and repair of complex perineal tears.

There is a national guideline around which conditions require secondary care consultation available here.

Women/pregnant people with low-risk pregnancies can continue to birth at Whakatāne Hospital under midwife care. Women/pregnant people who have increased risk of needing care by an obstetrician during birth may need to birth at Tauranga Hospital. While you are pregnant, your care will continue at Whakatāne Hospital with the support of Tauranga specialists and your midwife/LMC.

There are options for birthing at Bethlehem Birthing Centre for women/pregnant people who may have some risk of developing complications in labour, or who would prefer to birth in a primary unit with quicker access to specialist input at Tauranga Hospital. If you are in this situation, the best option for you will be discussed during your antenatal visit or with your lead maternity carer/midwife.

Enrol with a midwife or Lead Maternity Carer early in your pregnancy and discuss your options with them as it may still be the right thing for you to birth with your midwife in Whakatāne Hospital.  Your midwife will assess any risk and discuss your wishes for birthing with you.  Your midwife will then make a plan with the Tauranga Obstetric team if other arrangements are needed. 

If you are pregnant and do not have a midwife, it is important that you enrol with one as soon as possible at www.findyourmidwife.co.nz. You can also call our dedicated 24/7 phoneline on 0800 429 328 to speak to a midwife. You can call with any questions, at any time.

Keeping you safe is our priority.

The changes have been put in place to keep you safe.  We know this is not ideal, but we will work with you to make sure you get the best care.

Your midwife will work on your plan with you to help decide if your maternity care can happen at Whakatāne.

In Maternity and Obstetrics, we are unable to maintain a secondary birthing service, but primary birthing can continue. Pregnant people with risk factors for complications such as previous complex pregnancies or births, previous caesarean section, or risk factors for heavy bleeding, would need to travel to a hospital such as Tauranga Hospital who have the staff and facilities to safely care for them. Whakatāne will be unable to provide an induction of labour service, caesarean sections, or epidural service. If you suffer a complex perineal tear during birth in Whakatāne, you will also need to travel to Tauranga Hospital for repair.

Ko Matariki Maternity continues to be a birthing unit. Birthing is still available for low-risk women/pregnant people under the care of a midwife.  If you need specialist care for your birth, you will need to travel to Tauranga Hospital.

Your midwife will send referrals (if needed) to the appropriate specialist, just as they would have before. We will continue to provide antenatal, gynaecology and colposcopy clinics at Ko Matariki Maternity with a visiting Obstetrician/Gynaecologist (two days per week).

The Neonatal Unit continues to run at Ko Matariki Maternity, meaning you can be transferred back to Ko Matariki as soon as everyone is well enough to travel.

Care during your pregnancy will continue at Whakatāne Hospital, or with your midwife with ante-natal clinics.  Specialists from Tauranga Hospital will run clinics at Whakatāne Hospital for those that need specialist input.

If it’s considered that you are needing secondary care for your birth, you will need to travel to Tauranga and you may need to stay there before you give birth. Your travel, food and accommodation costs will be provided for free to you, your partner and whānau.   There are no surcharges. Health New Zealand will organise this and pay up-front so there is no out-of-pocket cost to you.

If your situation changes and you need urgent care at Tauranga Hospital, we have a dedicated 24/7 ambulance on standby. This is an additional ambulance to those serving the wider Whakatāne area and is only used for transferring women/pregnant people between Whakatāne and Tauranga hospitals. Helicopter transfers are also available in emergency situations.

If your midwife/LMC ask you to travel to Tauranga Hospital, your transport, accommodation and food costs will be provided for free to allow you to travel and stay before giving birtha s advised by your midwife or doctor.

We offer each women/pregnant person a $60 petrol voucher to cover a return trip from Whakatāne to Tauranga regardless of whether you have a community services card or not.

Pre-paid motel accommodation in Tauranga is provided for women/pregnant people and their whānau. There is no need to pay and claim the cost back – we organise this for you so you can focus on what’s most important.

Each women/pregnant person is also offered a $30 food voucher per day for their whānau to use to cover the additional cost of having to get food in Tauranga rather than in Whakatāne.

Your partner or key support person will be provided three hospital meals per day in addition to this while staying at the Tauranga Maternity Unit. If any other costs are incurred, please discuss with your midwife/LMC.

If possible, you will be offered a single room at the Tauranga Maternity Unit so that your partner/support person can stay in the room with you.

In addition, motel accommodation is offered for other whānau members as required.   Your whānau will be able to stay in the paid motel accommodation every night that you are in hospital in Tauranga.

An induction of labour can take 2-3 days until baby is born. If you have a caesarean section, we expect that you may be able to travel back to Whakatāne the following morning. If you are transferred to Tauranga for any other reason, the team will talk to you each day about how long you need to stay.  If you have a caesarean section or other surgical intervention, you will be transferred back to Whakatāne by ambulance.

Tauranga hospital is 90km (1hr 15min) drive from Whakatāne Hospital and has 24-hour secondary obstetric service cover, and 24-hour anesthetic service cover. Tauranga Hospital can provide epidural access, induction of labour and caesarean sections.

We are reviewing options for our women/whānau who live further away from Tauranga Hospital, eg from Ōpōtiki or Kawerau.

Your midwife will send referrals (if needed) to the appropriate specialist as they would have previously done, and we will continue to provide antenatal, gynaecology and colposcopy clinics at Ko Matariki Maternity with a visiting Obstetrician/Gynaecologist (two days per week).

Yes, it is. You can be transferred back to Whakatāne as soon as everyone is well enough to travel.

At your specialist clinic appointment, you will be given a date for your elective caesarean section. 

A midwife will call you two days before your caesarean section to arrange your blood test and to confirm the time of surgery, travel, accommodation and other support.

If you live in Ōpōtiki or further east, you can have your blood test done at the Tauranga Maternity Ward the night before your caesarean section. 

For your postnatal stay, you will be transferred back to Ko Matariki Maternity as soon as both you and pēpi are well enough to travel.

You will be given a date for your induction of labour at either the antenatal clinic, or via a phone call from our team.  You will need to be at the maternity unit in Tauranga by 8:30am.

A midwife will call you two days before your induction of labour to confirm your induction time, travel, accommodation and other support.

For your postnatal stay, you will be transferred back to Ko Matariki Maternity as soon as both you and pēpi are well enough to travel.

Most gynaecological care will be moved to Tauranga Hospital except for day case surgery and some outpatient clinics. Specialists will visit from Tauranga to Whakatāne to run some of the Gynaecology outpatient clinics and perform some day case surgery. More-complex surgery or intervention will need to be carried out at Tauranga Hospital and transport and accommodation may be provided.

Local emergency, medical and surgical team will provide urgent care for emergency presentations and will stabilise a patient with a gynecology emergency prior to any transfer for specialist care.

The termination of pregnancy service will continue to be available. However, people will likely need to travel to Tauranga or Rotorua for this particularly for later terminations after 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Any surgery that requires an overnight stay in hospital, or procedures that are not currently performed in Whakatāne such as outpatient hysteroscopy.