13th February 2020
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News Release

13th February 2020

“Maternity Units in sub-standard conditions are part of an appalling legacy of neglect" - PLC

Reports published by the Health and Information Authority (Hiqa) has found that an alarming 15 of the State’s 19 Maternity Units are operating in the absence of compliance standards relating to the physical infrastructure and working environments. The Reports relate to unannounced inspections across the maternity network by Hiqa during May and August of 2019.

Spokesperson for the Pro Life Campaign, Eilís Mulroy, said that the Hiqa findings have exposed conditions that are a direct result of a legacy of neglect at government and ministerial level. She said:

“The Reports that are being published today are profoundly disturbing. While they acknowledge the dedication and commitment of front-line maternity staff right across the maternity network, they also raise deeply worrying concerns around leadership and management approaches that must be challenged.

"We learn for instance that at the time of the Hiqa inspection at the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, there were no formalised care pathways to ensure that women with complex high risk pregnancies in the smaller maternity units throughout the state were accepted and that mothers and babies from all over the country were accepted to the hospital depending on maternal bed and neonatal cot capacity.

"The PLC has consistently highlighted the huge levels of geographical disparity and the postcode lottery aspect of the system when it comes to accessing the highest levels of care for mothers and babies.

"These Reports confirm our position."

Ms Mulroy continued:

"It is simply astonishing to read that the Maternity Units in Cork, Cavan, Drogheda and Wexford are the only Units that were found to be substantially compliant with standards on physical infrastructure, with the remaining 14 units found to need significant upgrading and refurbishment.

"We have called time and again for a focus on the delivery of best practice in the safest environments possible during the course of the outgoing governments tenure. That has clearly not happened. Other priorities have prevailed.

"Instead we have seen people like Mark Molloy, a patient’s representative, resign from the board of the HSE because only 12% of the money promised by government for improvements to the maternity units was provided.

"As a national newspaper reported some months back, the remaining funding that was supposed to be ring-fenced for maternity units was diverted to abortion services instead. It is an absolute scandal that abortion which has nothing to do with genuine healthcare was prioritised over safeguarding the lives of pregnant women and their babies.

"We need to re-focus on delivering the best care possible for mothers and babies and to avoid the ongoing rush to prioritise abortion funding to the clear detriment of mothers, babies and staff,” concluded Ms Mulroy.

Overview of Reports can be downloaded from the Hiqa website here ([link removed])


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