Media Release                                                                   20 February 2018

Women’s healthcare at Auckland DHB far from ‘excellent’

In the face of staffing shortages and a poor culture in Women’s Health at ADHB, NZNO shares the concerns expressed by the College of Midwives about patient and staff safety.

Auckland Lead Organiser Carol Beaumont says it is utterly inappropriate for the DHB to state in the media that they are providing an excellent standard of care for mothers, babies and their families when they know they are short staffed and dealing with acute health issues for mothers and babies in a stressed environment.

“We want the DHB to acknowledge the seriousness of the problem and to meet with us to put in place immediate solutions to relieve pressure and improve safety and service. This includes dealing with unsafe staffing levels and the culture in Women’s Health,” Carol Beaumont said.

“Our members are telling us regularly that every shift they are worried that the standard of care they can provide is compromised by short staffing and inadequate resources. 

“Daily, our members are placed in situations where they feel their professional standards are jeopardised and as a result there is a high level of stress amongst the staff.  

They report that this in turn is putting the proper care for mothers and babies at risk.

“While we have been working with the DHB to address these concerns and acknowledge that they are trying to put in place measures to deal with a shortage of midwives, these issues require an urgent response in addition to longer term solutions,” Carol Beaumont said.

ENDS.