Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber. I understand the average daily rate for Covid-19 has dropped to under 1,000 over the past 14 days. Concerns remain about future variants and the direction of the trend but we are almost three months into the Government decision to lift almost all restrictions across society and the economy. Yet, across most of the 19 maternity units, the policy restricting partners from attending some appointments remains in place. I ask the Minister of State to provide us with an urgent update on that policy. As recently as yesterday, the National Maternity Hospital announced that partners are now welcome to attend all appointments. That is very welcome.

Women have been telling us stories, particularly in recent weeks, and there is a degree of shock when people learn the restrictions are still in place. In recent weeks, we have heard of the experiences of people attending the Rotunda and Coombe hospitals, where partners were prevented from attending certain scans and appointments. One woman was told her partner could not even wait outside. In another case, a partner was prevented from attending a foetal anomaly clinic. Receptionists and sonographers are conveying different messages about whether a partner can attend at different appointments. One woman received bad news alone. Over the past two years, and up to last week, one hospital has been issuing a note to every woman coming into antenatal classes telling them they cannot communicate directly with the medical professionals or that they may not be guaranteed individual access to a medical professional. That has created all sorts of needless distress and confusion.

It is almost 12 months to the day since the Minister for Health announced that all Covid maternity restrictions would be lifted, on 11 May last year. That did not happen. Over the past two years, the Better Maternity Care campaign has very powerfully highlighted the stress and trauma associated with some of the restrictions that were put in place. It has shone a light on the restrictions that remain in place to this day. This group has been seeking a meeting with the HSE since the new year and that has not happened. There was engagement between the HSE and the campaign last year but that has fallen away since the new year.

It is important to acknowledge that many maternity units are often operating under difficult conditions, and flexibility has been afforded to some in high-risk pregnancies, but the reality is there is no clear message and there is inconsistency between one hospital and the next. While we accept that hospitals have a right to have individual visitor and infection control policies, partners are not visitors. Partners are a vital support to women when they are going through pregnancy and childbirth. I want a firm commitment from the Minister of State that, over the next fortnight, the HSE will update its partner restriction policy across the 19 maternity units and restrictions will be lifted, unless there is strong and very clear clinical evidence to the contrary.