Southland
Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker today presented his petition to Save the Lumsden Maternity Centre to Health Minister Dr David Clark.
“The level of support that the petition has received across Clutha-Southland is overwhelming,” Mr Walker says.
“After collecting the final petition forms from around the region last night, I presented more than 5,100 signatures in support of the Lumsden Maternity Centre to the Health Minister this afternoon.
“While I was in his office, I told him about the emergency birth at the Centre on Friday, where a Queenstown couple would’ve faced a roadside birth on their way to Invercargill if it wasn’t for the Lumsden Maternity Centre and I passed on my other concerns regarding the downgrade, of behalf of the Lumsden and wider Southland community.
“I also challenged him to ask Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern if she would be comfortable travelling 130km to give birth, like some of our rural mothers might have to.
“I want to say a massive thank you to the more than 5,100 people who signed the petition to keep the Lumsden Maternity Centre open as a birthing unit.
“We are facing the loss of a piece of Southland history, here. Our communities in Clutha-Southland may be small, but our services matter. From our schools, to our health services and our roads – these are not things that we can do without.
“This is ultimately about the wellbeing of Clutha-Southland mums-to-be, the quality of their postnatal care and the integral role the maternity centre plays in confidence of new parents and postnatal mental health.
“Rural mums deserve much better and I hope the Health Minister listens to their concerns as a result of my petition.”