Five new obstetricians are being recruited for Whakatāne Hospital’s obstetrics department and could be here by the end of this year or early next year.

This emerged at a public meeting in Whakatāne on Tuesday night fronted by several senior health officials, led by Health NZ deputy chief executive Cath Cronin, who provided updates on the status of the hospital's obstetrics services.

Similar meeting are being held at the Kawerau Town Hall today, from 3pm to 4pm and 4.45pm to 5.30pm, and at the Ōpōtiki Memorial Park Pavilion tomorrow, from 4pm to 5pm and 5pm to 6pm.

At the Whakatāne meeting, Deanne McManus-Emery, head of the task force overseeing the response to the obstetrics crisis at Whakatāne, said 48 women had given birth at Tauranga Hospital with 15 of them transfered by ambulance for emergency treatment since the downgrade of Whakatāne's obstetric services on January 15.

No helicopter transfers have been required during this period.

No services were being closed in Whakatāne, emphasised Ms Cronin.

“This is a recruitment issue,” she said. “Everyone I talk to, from the minster to the chief executive, we all agree on this. This is an important hospital, we do over 600 births per annum.”

The meeting also addressed concerns about corporate culture and staff retention, particularly after four specialists left the department within six months last year.

Ms Cronin acknowledged there were questions around why senior medical officers left.

“We know we have some local SMOS who didn’t leave because they needed to go live somewhere else,” she said.

“There are things that we can do much better in the team as far as our leadership, our culture.”

Two new Whakatāne Hospital senior health officials introduced themselves at the meeting: physician Phillipa Cross, the interim medical lead, and Jenny Martelli, the interim general manager. These appointments are part of a broader strategy to rebuild the obstetrics department.

“It doesn’t mean we create a silo, there is still a strong working relationship with Tauranga. We think that relationship could be better and stronger.”

Ms Cronin said they were following every pathway and had spoken to midwives, former doctors who had left, as well as specialists still at the hospital.

“We are making some big changes. There are some people who are stepping away from roles who have done amazing jobs for many years. But when we have looked at the situation, some have decided we are ready for something new here.”

Kate Grimwade, chief medical officer for the Bay of Plenty, said it was an opportunity to build something stronger for the Eastern Bay.

The new obstetricians being recruited include four from overseas, including one who is returning to Whakatāne after previously working at the hospital, and a New Zealand obstetrician who previously left.

“We have a number of American doctors who are looking for a different country to practise in, so we have some excellent doctors who would like to come here. We are now looking at across the year, having several doctors join us from different parts of the world,” said Dr Grimwade, who said they were looking for experienced doctors.

The recruitment process involves securing visas, ensuring accreditation with the Medical Council, and completing a supervision period.

Ms Cronin said they were also working on boosting the locum team and ensuring that a minimum of five specialists were available to cover the obstetrics department’s roster, especially for on-call duties during nights and weekends.

They had received positive feedback on its new systems, including the implementation of vouchers for food and accommodation for patients transferred to Tauranga. However, one audience member, a young mother who was admitted to Tauranga with an ectopic pregnancy last week, expressed concerns.

“I had to sit there in crippling pain asking if I am staying or going, do you have accommodation for my husband? Is Tauranga prepared for this because it didn’t feel like it was.”

Audience members raised questions regarding communication, the autonomy of management at Whakatāne, the cultural competence of new staff, and the challenges faced by mothers in remote areas, such as Te Kaha, who need to travel to Tauranga for care, as well as the increasing pressure on midwives.

A petition signed by thousands of people calling on the restoration of the obstetrics department was presented to Parliament at 2pm yesterday.