Health NZ's proposed reduction of 25 full-time roles from their funding team was announced last week. Photo: 123RF
Midwives are warning an already stretched maternity system faces further overload if Health NZ axes almost all of its roles in maternity support services.
An internal consultation document seen by RNZ proposed to get rid of the national maternity and early years programme Starting Well, reducing six dedicated roles to just one person, who would oversee all child and youth services.
The six roles were part of a proposed reduction of 25 fulltime roles that would be cut from Health NZ's funding team, announced last week.
Last week RNZ reported hundreds more jobs were poised to go at Health NZ under proposals due to be shared with staff last Friday.
The two units facing the latest cuts were the 1000-strong procurement supply unit and 500-strong planning, funding and outcomes unit.
It is understood Health NZ will propose to disestablish hundreds of jobs in procurement, as well as from within the three parts of planning.
This comes as Health NZ struggles to rein in a $140 million-plus monthly deficit by deploying a mass "reset" designed under Commissioner Lester Levy and chief executive Margie Apa.
Health NZ's national director of planning, funding and outcomes Dr Dale Bramley said under the latest proposal, the Starting Well team would become part of a new team called Age and Stage.
"Our maternity work programme currently sits within our Starting Well team (part of the wider funding team) and includes Kahu Taurima and maternity. Under the consultation document it is proposed that the Starting Well team would be combined with the older person's team into a newly formed team of Age and Stage.
"The maternity work programme is well underway and will be delivered by June 30 2025. Once delivered, funding work will be transitioned to regional teams."
Alison Eddy Photo: supplied
New Zealand College of Midwives chief executive Alison Eddy said she was surprised and shocked to hear about the proposal, which midwives should have been consulted on.
Eddy said combining maternity services with services for older persons felt like "an expedient way to cut people's jobs without real care and thought about what the jobs are that need to be done, and the specific skillset or focus areas that need to be dedicated in those roles".
The college would be making a submission on the proposal, she added, advocating for a "specific maternity focus within Health NZ at a central level and sufficient FTEs [full time equivalent roles] at senior level to drive changes needed as well as manage the day to day".
Dr Bramley said the changes related to the Funding team consultation that opened last week.
"[It] has a proposed FTE reduction of around 25 people from current levels, as well as the removal of vacancies, some of which have existed for some time."
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