Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Cronin and Cairns for raising what I agree is a very important issue. I am a mother of three and I fully understand that the current position in maternity hospitals is a serious concern, which I acknowledge is presenting difficulties for expectant mothers and fathers.

It is regrettable that in order to protect women, babies, staff and our maternity service as a whole, it has been necessary to reduce footfall in maternity hospitals, as both Deputies said. This has been achieved in part through the introduction of visitor restrictions which, unfortunately, have included limitations on access of partners to maternity wards, theatres and appointments. However, the fact that there have been no Covid-19 maternal deaths in this country and that we have had a low incidence of the disease in pregnant women suggests the current approach is working, even if it is very difficult. It is worth remembering also that some of the most vulnerable members of society are cared for in our maternity hospitals, including fragile infants at the very extremes of prematurity. We must do all we can to protect these babies.

Like most healthcare services, maternity hospitals rely on highly specialised personnel to deliver care to women and infants. Should an outbreak of Covid-19 occur in a maternity hospital, it will be devastating for the service in question and would severely impact its ability to provide safe, quality care to mothers and their babies.

To date, our maternity hospitals have performed very well and they have continued to keep women, babies and staff safe while delivering quality care in very challenging circumstances. However, we cannot become complacent. The virus is still transmitting in the community and we must be on high alert. Everybody present will be aware that 307 cases of the virus were reported yesterday.

As services resume, for example, in gynaecology, the number of people in hospitals will rise, thereby increasing the vulnerability of our hospitals to an outbreak. As I said, an outbreak of Covid-19 among staff or patients would have a severe negative impact and reduce our ability to provide maternity services.

All of our maternity services are challenged by the pandemic but those challenges vary considerably between units. There are also significant variations in caseloads, complexity and infrastructure across the system. For this reason, we cannot have a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, we need local flexibility that provides for different circumstances in different maternity wards. Decisions on any restrictions are, therefore, made, implemented and reviewed at hospital level.

I assure the House that the decisions to restrict visitors in maternity hospitals has not been taken lightly.

Front-line staff and hospital management are acutely aware of the very important support provided by partners at the time of birth and, indeed, during clinic visits. I have been assured that maternity hospitals wish to facilitate this support as far as possible and in that context visitor restrictions have been minimised as much as possible and are reviewed frequently.

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