Te Whata Ora said the project team needed to ensure the existing foundation at the New Harley Chambers building in St Asaph St is suitable after striking trouble with underground water.
The Star has been told asbestos has also been found on the site, found by contractors charged with turning the building into a fit-for-purpose maternity facility.
But Te Whata Ora Canterbury executive director of infrastructure Rob Ojala said contamination wasn’t a factor in the delay.
The building is close to the troubled Parakiore Recreation and Sports Centre, which has been plagued by delays.
It was one of the largest land remediation projects in New Zealand due to asbestos, poor ground conditions, underground water and other hazards on the site.
Ojala said the birthing unit won’t be ready until the end of the year.
“We require a high degree of confidence around ground moisture control – rather than any concerns around contamination,” he said.
The latest delay comes after last week’s announcement the only other community birthing unit in Christchurch at St George’s Hospital will close at the end of next month after failing to secure a contract extension with Te Whata Ora.
Ojala said “additional works are now being carried out” at the St Asaph St site, including drainage work for the birthing rooms.
“The costs for these additional measures are being covered by the landlord as the building is leased,” he said.
Midwives Union co-leader Caroline Conroy said an extension to St George’s Maternity Centre contract now needs to be urgently looked at.
She said not having a community unit in the city until next year places mothers and babies at risk.
“This latest delay puts even more pressure on the understaffed tertiary unit at Christchurch Women’s Hospital, where more women will be birthing,” said Conroy.
“International research also shows for women with healthy pregnancies going to a hospital tertiary unit is not the safest because there are very likely to be medical interventions,” she said.
Ojala said the delay was disappointing but families would continue to receive the care and support they need at Christchurch Women’s Hospital.
Asked if Te Whata Ora might revisit the contract with St George’s, a spokesperson said: “No, we won’t be”.
Te Whata Ora said safe staffing and workforce constraints due to the national midwifery shortage meant the service at St George’s was no longer sustainable.
The new St Asaph St unit, approved in 2021, was originally scheduled to be completed early this year.
Work only started in January after HRS Construction was appointed the lead contractor.
When completed the unit will include four birthing rooms, 20 post-natal rooms, a whanau space, and assessment rooms. It would be staffed by midwives employed by Te Whata Ora.
It will cater for up to 2500 births a year.
When the St George’s unit closes, mothers will have to give birth at Christchurch Women’s Hospital.
The New Harley Chambers building was the temporary Christchurch police station after the earthquakes and was later converted into a medical complex by property developers Box 112.
Parakiore Recreation and Sports Centre was supposed to be finished in 2016 but is over budget and now not expected to open until 2025.
-By Tony Simons
