Health Minister Jonathan Coleman is confident the changes required to make the Regional Women's Health Service work will be made and has backed its future.
Last week Whanganui District Health Board voted to continue to work with its neighbours, MidCentral District Health Board, despite several failings in their joint maternity initiative.
A report released a week earlier highlighted several problems with the service following seven "serious adverse events" including the death of five babies in Palmerston North and two other babies being seriously harmed, one in Whanganui.
The two health boards joined their maternity services in 2013 in response to uncertainty around obstetric cover in Whanganui Hospital in the two years previous.
Among the problems with the joint service identified in the report was that there was confusion among MidCentral staff around responsibility and accountability and "differing philosophical perspectives between clinical leaders" resulting in difficulties at leadership level.