Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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571. To ask the Minister for Health when the HSE will publish as part of its monthly maternity safety statements a metric on the monthly use of admission CTGs, in view of the fact that the current HSE monthly maternity safety statements for each of the 19 maternity units include figures on rates of induction of labour and on rates of caesareans. [17973/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Maternity hospitals began publishing Maternity Patient Safety Statements in March 2016, with the first reports detailing data from December 2015. They have since been produced on a monthly basis, being published on the basis of a two month time lag. The Statement currently consists of 17 metrics, including, as the Deputy notes, figures for rates of induction and also for Caesarean sections. The introduction of Maternity Patient Statements was among the recommendations made by the Chief Medical Officer of my Department in his Report on Perinatal Deaths at Portlaoise Hospital, which was published in February 2014. The information contained in the Statements provides hospitals and Hospital Groups with a snapshot of key information which can serve to provide an immediate indication of whether there is any cause for concern in relation to the safety and quality of the maternity services being delivered.

The HSE has established a governance mechanism to provide oversight of the process, including the metrics in use. However, I understand that the HSE does not intend to alter the metrics at this time, primarily as it is desired to establish a consistent series of data in order to establish trends across the health service.