Some areas of New Zealand are facing a chronic shortage of midwives and those working in the profession say it's on a knife-edge.
There are more 370 vacant midwife positions across the country, according to the Government, and some areas are facing severe shortages.
New figures show there were just 18 full-time midwives working in Taranaki at the end of March, and there were 23 vacant positions - a vacancy rate of 56%.
In the former Southern District Health Board (DHB) area, they had 44 midwives working, but needed 37 more - a vacancy rate of more than 45%.
The Capital and Coast DHB had 71 midwives working and 46 vacancies at the end of March - a vacancy rate of 39%.
The Waitematā DHB had a vacancy rate of 35%, followed by Auckland with 26% and Counties Manukau at 25%.
New Zealand College of Midwives chief executive Alison Eddy told 1News that midwifery services in some parts of the country are teetering and the situation is getting worse, rather than better.
"The services sometimes on some shifts are on a knife-edge, whether they can remain open or not," she said.
"There simply aren't enough of us. We need strategic support ... We need robust plans to recruit, retain and recognise the work of midwives so we can keep midwives in the profession."
The College of Midwives said there needs to be more support for students who undergo rigorous training.
National's health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti said while the entire health system appears to be struggling, the shortages in the midwifery sector are extreme.
"There are just no options because there is a shortage of midwives - a terrible shortage of midwives," Reti told 1News.
"First of all, we need to change the immigration settings so that we can have the health workforce - nurses, midwifery - on that day one pathway to residency. That's something we can do now; it's just unexplainable why the Minister wouldn't do that.
"Secondly, we need to look at those who are already here in New Zealand who might be able to be on-boarded into these roles and thirdly, in a medium- to long-term strategy, we need to turn on our own domestic pipeline and grow our own homegrown health workforce."
Suzi Hume says around 200 to 300 more midwives are needed around the country. (Source: Breakfast)
Reti said the Government didn't seem to have any plan about how to fix the shortage.
Southland midwife Tash Baillie told 1News that in her region, there's often only one midwife on duty to care for full wards.
However, she does not want people to panic and says they will still be cared for as midwifes were taking on extra work and shifts.
But she said it's disappointing that the "people that have the power to make some of these solutions work just aren't hearing us".
1News requested an interview with Health Minister Andrew Little, but his officials said it wasn't his area of responsibility, and that the Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall would respond. Verrall did not respond.
Immigration Minister Michael Wood, who did respond to questions from 1News, said midwives are eligible for the Accredited Employer Work Visa two-year pathway to residency like nurses.
“We don’t think it’s unreasonable for there to be a two-year requirement to work before residency is obtained and that gives us the maximum confidence that visas that are issued will result in people working in that area.”
The Taranaki health service told 1News that its midwifery system is under considerable strain and it thanked its midwifery team and wider maternity services for going the extra mile to ensure mums and babies are safe.
Te Whatu Ora Taranaki's acting chief operating officer, Katy Sheffield, said a national shortage of midwives means the ability to recruit new ones is very limited and competitive.
"We have a number of strategies in place to ensure mums and babies are well cared for, such as covering vacancies with experienced maternity Registered Nurses," she said.
She said a new maternity suite will be opening in Taranaki in 2024 and it's hoped it will help attract more midwives to work in the region.
SHARE ME