The fight to save a Southland maternity centre is gaining momentum.
A petition signed by 5000 people to save the Lumsden Maternity Centre was presented to Parliament.
National's Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker says closure could be catastrophic.
"The decision to downgrade the Lumsden Maternity Centre is putting lives at risk. Mothers and babies of Southland will have to travel 130km to give birth - this is unacceptable and the minister needs to listen."
The centre, run by the Southern DHB, is set to be downgraded from a primary birthing unit to a maternal and child hub. New hubs would also be established in Wanaka and Te Anau.
In March, one midwife claimed the downgrade would result in babies being born on the side of the road.
Thirty-eight babies were born in Lumsden last year, and former Prime Minister Bill English was born there in 1961. New mothers will now have to travel to Winton, Queenstown, Alexandra, Oamaru or Gore. The district health board says it is trying to figure out the "best long-term location of a primary birthing unit in central Otago".
"Southern DHB covers the largest geographic area of any DHB, and our climate and geography add further challenges," spokeswomen Lisa Gestro said in August. "We have needed to think differently about how to expand the reach of the care we provide."
Mr Walker says his the petition is not being taken seriously by the Government.
"The minster had a 5000-strong petition handed to him a few months ago. For the sake of a couple of hundred thousand dollars, he's refusing to even talk to the directors."
Health Minister David Clark was in Southland two weeks ago, but said he didn't meet with concerned locals about the centre due to a busy schedule.
Newshub.
