Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I visited the Coombe Hospital only yesterday, I visited Holles Street Hospital only last Friday and I visited the Rotunda Hospital the week before. In years past, our maternity services did not receive the priority they needed in respect of investment and I am determined to fix that. This is not a political point; it is one levelled at all our doorsteps. This is not just about words. Earlier this year, I launched Ireland's first ever national maternity strategy. It is shocking in some ways that it is the first ever but it has been recognised as a good document with great input from experts but also from women who are the experts in this regard. Our first set of bereavement standards were also published for women who are bereaved through pregnancy or neonatal death, again with direct input from women, their partners and midwives. That will lead to a number of changes in maternity services.

There are plans to relocate the National Maternity Hospital to St. Vincent's Hospital because while there is excellent work going on there, the building is simply not fit for purpose and women deserve a state-of-the-art, world class facility. I also recently approved the HIQA standards for maternity services, which will be launched this month.

I am aware of, and am concerned about, increasing claims to the State Claims Agency arising from maternity cases. However, I assure the Deputy that the safety and quality of maternity services is a priority for the Government and a personal priority. The publication of the national maternity strategy earlier this year, I hope, demonstrates a new and enhanced focus on maternity care at both policy and service delivery level, and provides a road map for how we can improve services in the years ahead. This month, HIQA will publish national standards for safer better maternity services, the first standards in the area. They will provide a framework for maternity service providers to ensure that they are meeting the needs of women, their babies and their partners, and that a consistent service is delivered across the country. I am confident that the strategy, coupled with the new standards, will provide the building blocks for a safer and better service.

With regard to midwifery numbers, in 2014, the HSE commissioned a midwifery workforce planning project. The project will inform the allocation of new midwifery resources on a phased basis over the coming years. In May 2016, the HSE granted approval to the hospital groups to appoint an additional 100 staff midwives. The majority of these posts were allocated to the three Dublin maternity hospitals.

In line with the national maternity strategy, a national women and infants health programme is being established within the HSE to lead the management, organisation and delivery of maternity, gynaecological and neonatal services. The programme will drive the delivery of the strategy.

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