Written answers

Tuesday, 27 September 2016

Department of Health

Maternity Services

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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662. To ask the Minister for Health his views on the fact that in the week of 6 June 2016 a total of four qualified midwives and a student midwife were covering nine delivery rooms, working 13-hour shifts, in the Rotunda Hospital; the steps he has taken to deal with staffing problems; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26935/16]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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663. To ask the Minister for Health his views on how he proposes to deal with problems in our maternity services, with particular reference to the fact that eight maternity units are under investigation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26936/16]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The National Maternity Strategy, which was launched last January, espouses a new model of maternity care. The Strategy recommends that services should be woman-centred and provide integrated, team-based care, with women seeing the most appropriate professional, based on need. One of the high level priorities of the Strategy is to ensure that women have access to safe, high quality, nationally consistent, woman centred care. The new model of care will be underpinned by National Clinical Audit and a set of National Clinical Guidelines, quality assured by the National Clinical Effectiveness Committee.

Responsibility for implementation of the Strategy falls largely to the HSE. The HSE National Women & Infants Health Programmewill lead the management, organisation and delivery of maternity, gynaecology and neonatal services across primary, community and secondary care, strengthening such services by bringing together work that is currently undertaken across a number of divisions. It is also envisaged that through the establishment of maternity networks across hospital groups, and the sharing of expertise within those networks, the operational resilience of smaller units will be strengthened and supported to provide safe quality services.

The Deputy may also wish to note that HIQA is currently finalising National Standards for Better Safer Maternity Services. I believe that the Strategy and the National Standards will provide the important, and necessary, building blocks for the provision of safe, high quality maternity services into the future.

Finally, I should mention that, as recommended in the Chief Medical Officer’s report on Portlaoise Hospital, each of our 19 Maternity Units now publishes a Maternity Patient Safety Statement on a monthly basis. The Maternity Patient Safety Statements provide assurances around the safety and quality of maternity services at individual hospital level.

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