South Canterbury DHB
Timaru District, Mackenzie District, Waimate District
Licensed institutions in this area
Timaru Hospital & Community Services
| Street Address: | Queen Street, Timaru |
| Postal Address: | Private Bag 911, Timaru |
| Phone: | (03) 684 4000 |
| Facsimile: | (03) 688 0238 |
Services provided
According to information obtained from the DHB no abortions are performed in Timaru Hospital and the DHB provides assessment and referral for abortion procedures which are performed in Christchurch.
Women who have grounds for termination of pregnancy because of fetal anomaly may wish to confirm this with their specialist.
First and second trimester services - other than fetal anomaly
Referral and Appointments
The first point of contact is the Family Planning Clinic (03) 6843 872 for assessment and first certification. If criteria are met, referral will be arranged with the Christchurch services.
Counselling
Counselling can be arranged through the Timaru Hospital social workers - telephone (03) 6843089 and ask for social workers.
Certification
The first certificate can be provided locally. This can also be provided at Lyndhurst Clinic in Christchurch.
Procedure
First trimester services are provided at Lyndhurst Hospital in Christchurch. This is a suction curettage under local anaesthetic and conscious sedation. This is usually provided as a one-day procedure for women from out of Christchurch.
Second trimester services are provided through Christchurch Women's Hospital. See under the Canterbury region for information about this service.
Cost
There is no cost for the assessment and referral services provided locally. Some assistance for accommodation is provided by the South Canterbury DHB if this is needed and WINZ can be approached for assistance with transport costs when women cannot afford this.
Follow-up
Follow-up is usually provided by the referring doctor. Medical, nursing and counselling is available locally, both routinely and on request.
Second trimester - grounds of fetal anomaly
Referral in the first instance should be to the Timaru Hospital specialist obstetrician. Details of how and where this service is provided have not been provided by the DHB.
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 accessing accurate, up-to-date and informative details about how individual District Health Boards provide these services, or whether they provide them, 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: 3 May 2005