The West Coast District Health Board is pleased to present the Maternity Quality and Safety Programme Annual Report for 2020/21.
The West Coast District Health Board is pleased to present the Maternity Quality and Safety Programme Annual Report for 2020.
The West Coast has had a busy year again this year as we completed the Maternity Strategy and agreed with the Board to use it as a platform to guide not only the first 1,000 days, but we have also initiated the programme called Growing Up Well on the West Coast. We have a project group with wide representation across our community and have commenced hui around different communities on the West Coast, so we can improve our maternity and other systems for whanau.
Last year’s report has been shared widely and has prompted more discussion about how we can continue to improve the maternity system for our mamas and their pepī. The work that has been started in the previous year continues to evolve specifically in relation to the voices of the women and their whanau in our communities. We are placing a strong focus on equity particularly paying attention to the remoteness and distances needed to travel for many of our hapū wāhine and their whānau.
The maternity workforce has improved this year with both midwifery and medical appointments. The impact of our rural generalist model is that we are not only attracting but retaining a medical workforce and for midwives the door is also open to work alongside our rural nurse practitioners to both assist each other as both groups visit whanau in the community. There is also a stronger transalpine working relationship developing not only with midwifery, but now with the O&G department at Christchurch Women’s. As in previous years our guidelines and referral pathways are transalpine but are reflective of the West Coast perspective with input from the Coast. This helps the maintenance of standards of care across both DHBs in maternity whilst utilising the capacity that is available in Canterbury.