Wanaka down to last midwife

Wanaka is about to be reduced to only one working midwife for a growing population. Morgan Weathington says the exploding population and expensive rent means providing midwifery care under the current model is simply not sustainable. Local mother, Jo Stuart has been leading a campaign to support the midwives and ask the Ministry and DHB for more support. The midwifery workforce nationwide is under pressure - the College of Midwives says there are shortages in both hospital wards and in the community. An overhaul of the way community midwives are funded is being negotiated with the Health Ministry.