Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this important Commencement matter. As a father of young kids, he will understand the concerns I have for young parents and mothers going through maternity services.

Most of my contribution is about maternity services throughout the country but, in particular, in Tipperary University Hospital, Clonmel. The first thing to acknowledge is the work the staff there have done, particularly over the past three years, during Covid. The maternity ward has played a key role in that. That has to be acknowledged, and I thank the staff for that.

The reason I tabled this matter is a concern that there does not seem to be a standardised, universal approach to how maternity services work with regard to visitation. Some hospitals continue to impose restrictions on maternity services, citing Covid as the reason. Given the recent announcement by the World Health Organization, the pandemic should no longer impact maternity care. Women in pregnancy should always have an advocate for them there while they are going through the maternity ward. The problem we have is that every hospital is treating maternity services differently, whether we look at visiting hours or people who are allowed in. For example, in Tipperary University Hospital the visiting hours on maternity wards are from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m; in Cork, they are from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m; and in Clonmel, a patient is allowed to have only one visitor. That is a problem because that is not the way it used to be before Covid. Some hospitals have not gone back to the way things were pre-Covid. The concern I have is that a great many women go into maternity wards and end up having to get a C-section. That means they are in hospital for a long period, normally four nights, so they could be four nights and five days in hospital getting excellent care, but many people have young kids and young families whom they then do not see for the four or five days.

There is something special about bringing one's full family in to see a newborn child. When Covid restrictions are finished and the WHO has said that it is not a pandemic any more, the very least we can allow is for a mother to bring her other child or children in to see a newborn. It is a really important stage in life to be able to have family come together when a newborn baby is in hospital. It is not the same just coming home with the baby. There is something special about bringing them in. There are hospitals doing that but there are other hospitals that are not. That is not particularly fair. Obviously, there will be points where there is a Covid outbreak and new measures have to be brought into place. I have no problem with that. What I am talking about is the set, standard visiting restrictions that are in place, regardless of whether there is a Covid outbreak. I have had loads of parents come into my office concerned and upset that they are not receiving the sort of opportunity that others across the country are.

The real concern I have is that expectant mothers and parents now know that the visiting restrictions are not the same in Clonmel as they are in, say, Cork or Limerick and they are choosing other hospitals to have their babies in. That has a detrimental effect on our hospital in Clonmel, and I do not want that to happen. I, therefore, ask that the Department give some sort of indication or guidance as to what should be allowed post Covid in respect of restrictions on visiting hours for all family members, including kids, to be able to come in and see a newborn.