Canterbury DHB
Kaikoura District, Hurunui District, Waimakariri District, Banks Peninsula District, Selwyn District, Christchurch City, Ashburton District
Licensed institutions
Lyndhurst Hospital
| Street Address: | 440 Montreal Street, Christchurch |
| Postal Address: | Private Bag 4711, Christchurch |
| Phone: | (03) 379 0213 |
| Facsimile: | (03) 374 6822 |
Services provided
Lyndhurst Hospital is a free-standing public-funded day clinic providing first trimester termination of pregnancy (8-12 weeks + 6 days) and assessment for second trimester pregnancy. It is open Monday to Friday 8am until 4pm.
The service is available for women from the Canterbury DHB area and also accepts referrals from South Canterbury, West Coast DHB, Southland DHB and some of Otago DHB. Women can access assistance for travel and/or accommodation if they are referred by a specialist and meet Ministry of Health criteria. Information on Ministry of Health assistance should be provided by the referring DHB.
Appointments
Women can contact Lyndhurst directly for an appointment for pre-decision counselling. If a woman has already made a decision to request an abortion, she first needs to see a GP (or consultant gynaecologist) who makes a referral to Lyndhurst for an initial appointment. The referral form can be sent by facsimile, posted letter, or taken by the woman herself to the initial appointment. The purpose of the initial appointment is to see the first certifying doctor (15-20 minutes) for medical assessment, with counselling available for all women.
If legal and medical criteria are met the second appointment is given to see the second certifying consultant (usually the doctor who will operate) and a date set for the operation. There are some afternoon sessions. On the day of the procedure, appointments are made for 8am or 11.30am. Women may stay at Lyndhurst for up to 4 hours in total.
A one-day service is provided for women coming from out-of-town.
Information required from the referrer
NZ residency and personal details, including contact telephone number; parity and gravidity, previous TOPs; LMP, pelvic exam findings, USS if discrepancy between size and dates or for out of town referrals; investigations (HVS, chlamydia and antenatal bloods); History and indications, contraception use at conception; recommended follow-up contraception; MRSA risk assessment.
Lyndhurst has a referral form which can be obtained from the Hospital.
Certification
The certification process is provided by the doctors in the clinic. Two certificates are required and must both be signed prior to proceeding with the termination of pregnancy.
The initial appointment covers consideration for first certification by a doctor at Lyndhurst. The secondcertificate is often provided by the operating doctor the day prior to operation, or it can be on the day of operation.
A same day service is provided for patients from outside Christchurch and the first certificate may be provided by a certifying consultant from the women's own area, but this is not essential.
Counselling
Counselling services at Lyndhurst are focused on supporting women with whatever option and decision they may choose. It is a professional, confidential and free service. Routine counselling sessions are available to all women providing time for discussion of options, procedures, anxieties etc in a non-judgemntal way. Pre-decision counselling, when a woman may be unsure of her decision, is also offered. A pre-decision booking does not requir a GP (or consultant gynaecologist) referral, but if a decision is made to request an abortion, a woman will need to return to her GP (or consultant gynaecologist) to obtain a referral.
Counselling is available after the procedure and additional appointments can be made at any time by contacting Lyndhurst Reception, 03 379 0213.
The procedure
Operations are performed daily Monday to Friday.
While a woman may be required to be at Lyndhurst for approx. 4 hours on the day of operation, the procedure itself takes about 10-15 minutes.
For surgical terminations the method used is suction curettage under local anaesthetic with the woman sedated but remaining conscious. Referral to Christchurch Women's Hospital can be made for general anaesthetic when this is assessed as medically appropriate.
There are both male and female doctors operating at Lyndhurst.
As from July 2008 early medical abortion is now available using mifepristone and misoprostol.This is available for pregnancies of less than 8 weeks. Spaces available are limited, so prompt referral by the GP is essential. All patients requesting erly medical abortion have an assessment by a social worker to ensure they have adequate support during this time.
Follow-up
Post-operative contraception can be prescribed or initiated while at Lyndhurst hospital. Depo Provera can be given immediately after the procedure. IUCD can be inserted at the time of the procedure.
Patients are advised to see their referring doctor post-procedure for follow-up care. If there are complications requiring specialist assessment, the referring doctor will refer the woman to Acute Gynaecology Assessment at Christchurch Women's Hospital. If admission is required, the woman will be admitted to the Gynaecology Unit.
Cost
The service is free for New Zealand residents.The charge for non-New Zealand residents is $1500 with an extra charge for interpreting services $75 1st visit and $25 per hour.
Christchurch Women's Hospital
| Street Address: | 2 Riccarton Avenue, next to Christchurch Public Hospital |
| Postal Address: | Private Bag 4711, Christchurch |
| Phone: | (03) 364 4699 |
| Facsimile: | (03) 364 4006 |
| Website: | www.cdhb.govt.nz |
Services provided
This is a tertiary, public-funded, hospital providing a full range of obstetric and gynaecolgoical services.
A second trimester service is provided for Otago, Southland, West Coast, South Canterbury and Nelson/Marlborough (some) District Health Boards.
First trimester
Christchurch Women's Hospital may provide operations for first trimester termination of pregnancy under general anaesthetic when this is assessed as medically appropriate. Assessment is made first at Lyndhurst Hospital or by a private gynaecologist.
Second trimester
All grounds other than fetal anomaly (available to women within the Canterbury DHB only).
A second trimester service is provided for Otago, Southland, West Coast, South Canterbury and Nelson/Marlborough (some) District Health Boards in cases of fetal anomaly only.
Appointments
Appointments are usually made at Lyndhurst Hospital for initial assessment, counselling and first certification.
For patients referred through Lyndhurst, the Nurse Manager usually makes the appointments for second certification and procedure at Christchurch Women's Hospital.
Counselling
Counselling is available either through Lyndhurst Hospital or through Christchurch Women's Hospital. It is offered to, and recommended for, every patient. As at Lyndhurst Hospital, the professional counseling services available at Christchurch Women's Hospital are confidential and free of charge. Women can contact this service either before or after the termination of pregnancy on 364 4441.
The procedure
If recommended and medically appropriate suction terminations of pregnancy may be offered up to 15 weeks gestation under a general anaesthetic. After 14 weeks gestation a pregnancy is usually ended by medical induction of labour. A decision on the type of medical induction used is made following a medical assessment.
Follow-up
Provided by referring doctor or the Women's Health Gynaecology team when needed.
Cost
The service is free for New Zealand residents. The charge for non-NZ-residents is currently $1700 (day surgery only) and $3495 if overnight stay is required, up to three nights.
SECOND TRIMESTER - FETAL ANOMALY
Appointments
Referrals are made to the Fetal Maternal Unit (FMU) team at Christchurch Women's Hospital. The team consists of two consultant obstetricians and three midwives. Referrals to the team come from Lead Maternity Carers (LMC), midwives, GPs or other specialist obstetricians.
Certification
Legal certification is completed.
Counselling
Counselling is available through the social work team at Christchurch Women's Hospital. It is offered to, and recommended for, every patient.
The procedure
The method depends on the gestational age.
Up to 15 weeks gestation Surgical Termination (suction curettage under general anaesthetic) may be used.
From 15 weeks medical induction of labour is required. The medication induction uses the combined medications - Mifegyne is given up to 48 hours prior to ongoing induction with Misoprostol.
Follow-up
Provided by referring doctor or the FMU consultant.
Cost
The service is free for New Zealand residents. The charge for non-NZ-residents is currently $2095 (day surgery only) and $4300 if overnight stay is required, up to three nights. [Current as of 4 May 2009.]
Ashburton Hospital
| Street Address: | Elizabeth Street, Ashburton |
| Postal Address: | Private Bag 801, Ashburton |
| Phone: | (03) 308 4149 |
| Facsimile: | (03) 308 3917 |
Services provided
Ashburton Hospital is a public hospital. The hospital performs first trimester surgical abortions only, under general anaesthetic. About 10-12 abortions are performed per year by general surgeons, on referral from GP certifying consultants.
Most patients from Ashburton are referred to Lyndhurst Hospital for first trimester abortions and all second trimester abortions are performed in Christchurch Women's Hospital.
Appointments in Ashburton
The first appointment is made at the Ashburton Outpatient Clinic (Mon and Wed, 9-12). Appointments can be arranged by telephone, fax or posted letter by either the referrer or the patient. The referrer must provide patient details and the appropriate ASC forms. There is a usual waiting time for an out-patient appointment of 1-2 weeks.
At the out-patient clinic, the patient is seen by the operating surgeon, an appointment time of 20 minutes. Admission for the operation is arranged, for the following Tuesday (admission 7.30am, home the same day).
Certification
Patients in Ashburton get referred to certifying consultants by their GP or midwife (only 2 in Ashburton, see list below). If certification is obtained, patients are offered the choice of Ashburton Hospital, or Lyndhurst Hospital in Christchurch. Patients are referred to Ashburton if they request it. Lyndhurst Hospital has certifying consultants in the clinic, who can provide this assessment prior to operation.
Counselling
There is no counselling provided at Ashburton Hospital. Counselling is arranged by the referring doctor, depending on individual patient requirements or requests.
Follow-up
Follow-up for surgical or anaesthetic problems is provided by the hospital. The post-termination check is provided by the GP.
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: 29 May 2009