Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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254. To ask the Minister for Health if all pregnant women here have access to a foetal anomaly scan; and the number of foetal anomaly scans relative to actual births for every individual maternity unit in the State for the years 2015 and 2016, in tabular form [5055/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Anomaly scans are available in all Hospital Groups. The hospitals/maternity units currently providing anomaly scans accept referrals from other maternity units, if requested. This occurs where the medical team in the referring maternity unit consider that an anomaly scan is clinically indicated.

The National Maternity Strategy is very clear that all women must have equal access to standardised ultrasound services and, consequently, the issue of anomaly scanning is a priority issue for the newly established HSE National Women and Infants Health Programme (NWIHP). A Programme Director was seconded into position on the 3 January last. A Clinical Director has recently been appointed and takes up position on the 1 March 2017. An early priority for the Programme will be to develop clinical guidance regarding routine detailed scans at 20 weeks. In the meantime, the NWIHP will continue to work with the six Hospital Groups to assist in increasing access to anomaly scans for those units with limited availability.

One of the current challenges to increase access to anomaly scans is the recruitment of ultra-sonographers. In this context it is expected that the establishment of maternity networks across hospital groups will assist in developing a sustainable model that ensures that all women within each hospital group can access anomaly scans.

In relation to the query concerning the number of scans provided, I have asked the HSE to reply to you directly.