Counties Manukau DHB is being called out over a lack of communication

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has revealed, less than half of South Auckland's Nga Hau Mangere Birthing Centre is being used.

Meanwhile nearby Middlemore Hospital is being overstretched.

Nga Hau Mangere Birthing Centre chief executive Chloe Wright says they've tried to reach out to the DHB for an arrangement between the two.

She says it's a disgrace that the DHB will not engage with them, as none of the board members apart from one have visited their birthing centre.

The DHB has indicated it already has primary birthing units in Botany, Papakura and Pukekohe, and doesn't have the money to pay for another.