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The health board which planned to offer $100 supermarket vouchers to some mothers who left hospital within six hours of giving birth has scrapped the policy because critics tagged it "bribery".
The DHB said this afternoon said it had dropped the voucher aspect of the two-month scheme, which was to have started in Wellington this Saturday, because "it is clear that some people see this as a potential form of bribery".
Capital & Coast District Health Board's chief executive Margot Mains said it was unacceptable to have a policy that could be seen as bribery.
"I can assure the public that this was never the intent, but I do recognise the potential does exist for people to construe it as such. Accordingly, I have today instructed staff to scrap the supermarket voucher part of our management strategy."
The bribery tag was applied by Maternity Services Consumer Council coordinator Lynda Williams and others.
She said yesterday the vouchers would appeal most to those who most needed a lot of care and support - people from poor areas.
Rushing mothers out of hospital too soon could be bad for establishing breastfeeding. It could also damage mother-baby bonding and increase the risk of a baby being abused, Ms Williams said.
The health board denied its u-turn was the result of pressure from the Beehive, but when the Herald asked Health Minister David Cunliffe about the scheme yesterday, he said it was not Government policy.
Ms Mains apologised for any confusion the board management's handling of the policy had caused.
"I certainly could have handled this issue better, and I think it's important that we are now doing the right thing by taking the voucher idea off the table."
While the voucher scheme has been pulled, the overall policy of encouraging certain mothers to leave hospital early remains.
The policy is in response to a shortage of midwives.
In December and January, clinical staff will encourage mothers having a second or subsequent baby to go home within six hours of the birth - avoiding the usual 48-hour stay in the post-natal ward.
But only well women with a well baby will be encouraged to leave early and only after a straightforward birth - excluding the likes of caesareans and premature deliveries.
Ms Mains gave an assurance that the board would not discharge a woman and her child unless it was completely safe to do so.
And where a woman wanted to stay in hospital for social reasons, despite being clinically ready to go home, staff would use their "best endeavours" to accommodate them.
