Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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505. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the establishment of a serious incident management forum for maternity services in each hospital group. [30688/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The National Women & Infants Health Programme is working on a range of measures to improve the quality and safety of maternity services. A key objective is the establishment of a maternity-specific Serious Incident Management Forum in each Hospital Group. I am advised that the establishment of Serious Incident Management Fora is underway across the Hospital Groups and I have therefore asked the HSE to reply directly to you with regard to the current status of this process.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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506. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide a report on the pilot anaesthetics model of care for general hospitals with maternity services. [30689/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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One of the priorities set out in the HSE National Service Plan 2019 is to pilot an anaesthetics model of care for general hospitals with maternity services. As this work is being led by the National Women & Infants Health Programme, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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507. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the implementation of a phased national plan for benign gynaecology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30690/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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One of the priorities identified in the HSE National Service Plan 2019 is the implementation of a phased national plan for benign gynaecology.As this work is being led by the National Women & Infants Health Programme, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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508. To ask the Minister for Health if the HSE has identified the suite of clinical guidelines required in maternity services; and the gaps identified in terms of the development and-or review of new or existing clinical guidelines. [30691/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The National Clinical Effectiveness Committee (NCEC) is a Ministerial committee whose role is to prioritise and quality assure, to the level of international methodological standards, a suite of national clinical guidelines and national clinical audit prioritised as important for the Irish health system.

To support the National Maternity Strategy 2016-2026, the NCEC is prioritising and quality assuring a set of National Clinical Guidelines for maternity services. For example, the National Clinical Guideline No. 4. Irish Maternity Early Warning System, first published in 2014, was updated and republished by the Department of Health in February 2019.

Guidelines on Intrapartum Care are also in development as a priority to support a risk-based approach to maternity care. The clinical guideline "Risk in Pregnancy" is nearing completion and will undergo quality assurance by the NCEC in the coming months. It is expected that the NCEC will recommend it to the Minister for Health for endorsement as a National Clinical Guideline soon after.

Regarding the specific information requested by the Deputy, I have asked the HSE to reply to you directly.

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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509. To ask the Minister for Health if the HSE has defined the detailed care pathways to be made available to women in all maternity services based on the mode of care proposed in the national strategy thereby enabling a standardised and consistent planning approach. [30692/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Ireland’s first National Maternity Strategy, ‘Creating A Better Future Together, 2016 – 2026’, was published in January 2016. The Strategy aims to ensure that appropriate care pathways - Supported, Assisted and Specialised - are in place in order that mothers, babies and families get the right care, at the right time, by the right team and in the right place. It recognises that, while all pregnant women need a certain level of support, some will require more specialised care. Accordingly, it proposes an integrated model that delivers care at the lowest level of complexity and encompasses all the necessary safety nets in line with patient safety principles.

The National Women & Infants Health Programme has been established in the HSE to lead the management, organisation and delivery of maternity, gynaecology and neonatal services across primary, community and acute care. As the phased implementation of the Strategy is being led by the Programme, I have asked the HSE to reply to your query directly.