Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With respect, the Minister of State did not answer my question as to whether the Minister for Health has directly engaged with hospital management at Mayo University Hospital about the staffing crisis at the maternity unit. I would appreciate an answer to that specific question.

The Minister of State said that staffing levels have not reduced but that there were vacancies due to unexpected sick leave, maternity leave and retirements but such things are not unexpected. There will always be sick leave, maternity leave and retirements in the workplace. These are natural rather than unexpected events and we should be dealing with them and planning for them. The Minister of State has given a broad overview of the national picture but has not really addressed the issues specifically relating to the maternity unit at Mayo University Hospital. Midwives working at that unit have told me that they are nervous going into work in case something goes wrong and they do not have the staff to deal with it.

All they want is proper resourcing for the maternity unit so they can do the jobs the mums and babies need them to do. They want Mayo University Hospital to have parity with other hospitals, but it currently does not have that status. They have said to me that if something goes wrong and a baby dies - nobody wants to see this happen - the midwife, rather than the head of nursing or the general manager, is scrutinised. No one asks how many patients were on the ward at the time, how many staff were in operation or whether midwives were being asked to do the impossible. Midwives deserve far better than this.

I have been contacted by women who have given birth at the hospital in recent times. One lady recounted to me that just two months ago, the midwife who delivered her baby had to run off to the next room to deliver another baby because not enough staff were present. Another lady told me that a midwife was not able to be present when she was giving birth because she was next door delivering twins. She admitted that when the nursing staff told her to hold on because the midwife needed to be present, she used quite colourful language to say that holding on was not an option. I am not making a comedy out of this. I am setting out the reality of what is happening. It was not the midwife's fault that she could not be present because she was next door dealing with another delivery. Additional staff should have been on site. There were no complications in this woman's case, thankfully, but what would have happened if - God forbid - there had been complications? The negativity surrounding our maternity services nationally leaves a lot to be desired. The Minister of State did not address the specific difficulties at Mayo University Hospital. She did not answer my questions. I would like to know whether the Minister for Health has engaged personally with this matter.

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