Pettis Jill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Pettis Jill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:636;Page:6929] 
11.  
JILL PETTIS (Labour) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Health 
: What is the Government doing to support the rural midwifery workforce? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Associate Minister of Health) 
: 
 Much is being done in this area. There are two new funding streams that are available for rural midwives. The first a fund of $200000 per annum for the next 2 years will provide financial support of $2500 for every lead maternity carer who has provided postnatal support to women living in remote areas. In addition a new fund of $2 million per annum will be used to support rural midwives. This fund will be available from next year and will be allocated according to the rural ranking scale. 
Jill Pettis 
: What further initiatives is the Government implementing to improve access to health services for people who live in rural communities? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Again this is an area where a lot is being done by the Labour-led Government. We have rolled out a number of initiatives. This latest announcement is one in a series of improvements the first being $80 million as a rural adjuster for district health boards to compensate for the higher cost of delivering health in rural communities the second being $4.2 million to pay for rural bonuses for the 461 rural general practitioners under the rural ranking scale and the third being $8.4 million in rural workforce retention funding to help those people get locum supports as well. There is much being done to help rural professionals in the health sector. 
Barbara Stewart 
: Is the Minister aware of other maternity issues such as the overcrowding at Christchurch Women’s Hospital described by the College of Midwives Canterbury West Coast chairwoman as being “so full the care of high-risk women was being compromised.”; if so what is his ministry doing to ensure the safety of expectant mothers in Christchurch? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: I have every confidence in the Canterbury District Health Board working with midwives to look after all those pregnant women down there. As I announced much is being done in respect of midwifery services and maternity care by this Government not only in the rural areas but in fact in the urban areas as well. 
Jo Goodhew 
: Can the Minister explain why he has not taken this opportunity to strengthen the multidisciplinary team approach to primary care as required in the Primary Health Care Strategy by bringing the midwives into the team with doctors and practice nurses and enhancing the choices for New Zealanders? 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: Although I understand that at this point the midwives are not part of that official arrangement this new move which will allocate funding under the rural ranking scale will bring them into line with the general practitioners in the way that they are funded. I have every confidence that through the primary health organisation model we will see total cooperation between all providers of health services in the rural areas: midwives general practitioners physiotherapists pharmacists and everyone else.