Counties-Manukau DHB
Manukau City, Papakura District, Franklin District
Licensed institutions
Middlemore Hospital
| Street Address: | Hospital Road, Otahuhu, Auckland 3 |
| Postal Address: | Private Bag 93311 |
| Phone: | (09) 276 0000 |
| Facsimile: | (09) 270 4714 |
Services provided
Middlemore Hospital is a base hospital which provides full gynaecology services. The provision of abortion services is apparently under discussion. However the information given below is the best available to date.
First trimester
All patients requesting first trimester termination are referred directly to the Epsom Day Unit by their GPs.
Second trimester - all grounds, other than fetal anomaly
Women requesting termination on the grounds of serious adverse effect on mental health are initially referred by their GP or family planning doctor for options counselling with a senior social worker at Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB). The referral information and the social worker summary is assessed by the Clinical Director and the Gynaecology Service Coordinator. A decision is made as to whether the referral meets the CMDHB funding criteria for this procedure. If the referral meets the criteria, the Social Worker contacts the woman to discuss the procedure and follow up care. Contraceptive options are explored and if requested referrals are made for sterilisation.
The procedure is funded by CMDHB's provider arm and the service is provided by a group of private gynaecologists (see Auckland area - second trimester surgical service) who ultimately make the final decision. Follow up care is with the General Practitioner.
Second trimester - fetal anomaly
Appointments
Patients are referred to the gynaecology service at the Counties-Manukau DHB. The woman is assessed by the gynaecologist. If after counselling, the woman decides to proceed with termination, a multi-discipline team approach to care is provided.
Certification
This is provided in the gynaecology service by the gynaecologists who are certifying consultants.
Counselling
Options counselling is provided by the senior social worker, and the woman and her family are introduced to Bereavement Care for support.
The procedure
The method used is a medical induction of labour, using mifepristone (Mifegyne®) and misoprostol (Cytotec®). A multi-discipline team approach is provided with the gynaecology care nurse-in-charge managing the procedure.
Follow-up
Provided by gynaecology team.
Cost
The service is free for eligible patients. Non-NZ-residents should enquire directly about the cost to them.
DHB responsibilities
All District Health Boards are required to provide termination of pregnancy services "for those women who meet the criteria provided by the Crimes Act 1961 and the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977". See Ministry of Health. However they may not necessarily provide the services themselves. Accessing accurate, up-to-date and informative details about how individual District Health Boards provide these services, has been extremely difficult. The information provided here is the best that we have been able to obtain for this district to date. We will continue to update the website as we obtain further information.
Last Updated: 14 October 2008