Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The issues at the maternity unit in Mayo University Hospital have been ongoing for a number of years. Continued underfunding and understaffing at the hospital have created considerable risks for patients and their babies. That is what staff told me today. This came to a head last November when midwives at the maternity unit took part in a lunchtime protest outside the hospital. Some of those who protested are long-serving midwives with extensive experience in their field. It was not an easy decision for them to take but they felt so strongly about the situation and the risks being posed to mothers and babies in their care that they felt they had no choice but to take strike action. One can only imagine how difficult things must be in the maternity unit to prompt such action by experienced midwives and nurses. The Minister of State can be guaranteed that they had exhausted all avenues open to them to have their concerns heard by hospital management and the HSE. Their voices fell on deaf ears and it was not until they publicly took to the streets that hospital management and the HSE sat up and took notice, as did the wider public who are now very much aware of the issues at their maternity unit.

At the time of the aforementioned protest, I raised this issue in this Chamber with the Government but to date, the Minister for Health has done absolutely nothing to address it. Has the Minister even met hospital management at Mayo University Hospital to discuss the staffing crisis at the maternity unit? If not, why not? Following on from the strike, unions and hospital management engaged with the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, in an effort to resolve matters. They met in February this year and again approximately one month ago. It is my understanding, having spoken to staff, that at the last meeting both unions and hospital management agreed there was an issue with staffing in the maternity unit. Due to nurse shortages in theatre at the hospital, midwives are regularly being called away from the maternity unit, where they are needed, to do jobs in theatre. This is coupled with the fact that there is not enough staff in the maternity unit in any event to cover maternity leave and sick leave. Moreover, the hospital's inability to attract nursing staff to take up posts has meant that the maternity unit is operating below safe staffing levels. I am relying on the expertise of staff members, who are adamant that they need more midwives and nurses at the maternity unit. Unions and hospital management are due to meet again at the WRC on 8 June in the hope of finding a solution. I am told that hospital management would hire temporary staff but it cannot get anyone to take up those posts. Mayo University Hospital is competing with other hospitals for staff and it appears that the types of contract being offered are not enough to entice staff to take up positions at the hospital. It is clear that the HSE needs to offer better contracts to midwives and nurses and to improve working conditions.

The Minister for Health must engage personally on this matter. It is not okay for him to abdicate responsibility. It does not matter that the WRC, the HSE and management are engaged because the Minister is ultimately responsible for this issue. It is imperative that he engages on this matter. We saw strike action seven or eight months ago but to date the Minister has not engaged. The fact that he has done nothing to address the staffing shortages is totally unacceptable. What steps will the Government and the Minister for Health take to address this issue? What steps will be taken to engage with hospital management and staff to ensure that the WRC process results in additional staff and resources for the maternity unit? At the end of the day it is mothers and their babies who are suffering. The fact that this has been widely publicised is creating massive concern among those women who will be going into the maternity unit in the coming weeks and months to deliver their babies. It is essential that we, as public representatives, ensure that the service they get at Mayo University Hospital meets their needs.

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