Blood stains on the carpet, dirty linens left in the laundry: Lumsden Maternity's landlords say they may start considering regular inspections of the property after the recent state left by its tenant, the Southern DHB.

The landlords leasing the Lumsden Maternity building to the Southern District Health Board (DHB) have issued a strict letter to their new tenant about the "unacceptable" state of the facility following a rapid birth in the centre's car park last week.

The Lumsden Maternity Centre's downgrade to a so-called "hub" in April also meant a new working relationship between the owners of the building and the Southern District Health Board. 

The Northern Southland Health Trust owns the Lumsden Maternity building and previously operated maternity services, bulk funded by the DHB. Under the new arrangement the trust leases part of the building directly to the health board, which now operates the hub.

According to the trust, that puts the onus on the DHB to maintain the facility under the terms of the new lease.

Trust chairwoman Janese Priergaard-Petersen wrote to DHB executive director Lisa Gestro and other representatives on Tuesday with a stern email that it was "unacceptable" for there to be blood stains on the carpet in the entrance way and hallway leading to the birthing room. Dirty linen was also still sitting in the laundry. 

"We understand that this is all as a result from the rapid labour that occurred in the car park in the early hours of Friday morning (the 21st of June). For a healthcare facility, this is unacceptable and SDHB urgently needs to address the cleaning of the hub so that it is managed to an acceptable, and hygenic standard."

The trust also reminded the DHB that rodent control was also a tenant responsibility, but as landlords, they arranged for the ceiling to be baited with mice and rat poison as they did in previous years. 

"Please ensure that the cleaning of the hub is brought up to an acceptable standard going forward and arrangements will need to be made to ensure that cleaning is undertaken within a reasonable time of any rapid or emergency birth at the hub, including the safe and proper removal of dirty linen. To fail to do so is an unacceptable biohazard and health and safety risk for other users of the hub."

Trust spokeswoman Carrie Adams told Advocate South on Tuesday they would wait to hear from the DHB before deciding on next steps, but regular inspections were a possibility.

"We'll see what their response is and, depending on what that is, it might be that inspections are appropriate. It might be that there's a different measure in place."

Mrs Gestro said the Lumsden hub was cleaned weekly and following any births by the company that services the Southern DHB's Dunedin and Southland hospitals.

"Our cleaner was there for four hours on Friday, performing a thorough clean. A stubborn spot of blood was reported, and a plan developed to return with more specialised products to tackle this.

"These issues will be much more easily resolved once a hub coordinator is in place and we appreciate the efforts of those who can help ensure this transition is successful."

However, midwife Nicky Pealing, who comes into the facility around once a week, said she had not seen or heard of any evidence of regular cleaners at the building. 

After two recent births near the hub, she said DHB senior management had come in company cars to clean the facility themselves, taking away either linens or waste themselves. 

Prior to the downgrade, Mrs Pealing said the centre was cleaned daily, and dirty linens were stored in a shed and taken away to be professionally cleaned on a regular basis.

"It's an old building. It needs to be looked after," she said.