Maternity unit will be refurbished

Hutt South MP Ginny Andersen has welcomed news that the Hutt Hospital maternity unit will be refurbished.

“It’s great news that work can now go ahead on the new maternity unit,” Ginny says.

“I know people have been waiting to know this from Te Whatu Ora so it’s great to finally have this certainty.”

Work on refurbishing the maternity unit was paused after the Heretaunga building which houses it was declared an Earthquake Prone Building (EPB) in June last year.

However a follow-up peer review of the detailed seismic assessment, which is in its final stages, has indicated that the external cladding, the contributing factor to the previous EPB finding, may not warrant the low 15% NBS rating.

“This review process is will provide a final seismic status of the building which we expect towards the end of July,” Ms Andersen says.

The Hutt Valley District Health Board was now resuming its planning to refurbish the Hutt Hospital maternity facilities.

This will enable them to improve clinical outcomes, increase space, improve privacy and provide a better experience for both patients and staff.

This involves redesigning the birthing and postnatal rooms to create fit for purpose, culturally inclusive, whânau friendly and private environment.

It is the final stage of a $10 million project to improve patient experiences and outcomes across the maternity health services at the hospital.

The first two phases created new office and clinical spaces for the Community Midwifery Services, and a redesign and expansion of the Maternity Assessment Unit (MAU) which have already been completed.

"The clinical team is pleased that the project has been given the green light to continue transforming our Maternity Unit into a welcoming and functional place for our mothers, pepi and whanau," says Jamie Duncan, Interim Hospital and Specialist Services Lead, Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley.

"Our dedicated maternity staff, Lead Maternity Carers and midwives will also welcome the improved clinical spaces and the dedicated areas for wh nau meetings, staff training and clinical handovers, as well as improved patient spaces."

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