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THE NEW MASTER of the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street began her seven-year term today.
Dr Rhona Mahony went through the traditional ceremony which greets a new Master to the role on New Year’s Day by visiting the hospital with her own four children and husband. There she met the hospital’s first newborn of 2012, Elsie Ann Tumulty who was born at 26 minutes past midnight. Weighing in at 6lbs 9ozs, Elsie Ann slept soundly as she and her parents Ian Tumulty and Nikki Mitchell were greeted by Dr Mahony.
Holles Street is the busiest maternity hospital in Ireland with almost 10,000 babies born there in 2010. Dr Mahony is its first-ever female Master and replaces Dr Michael Robson. She was a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the hospital until she took up her post today. The Master is a term from the 19th century when the Rotunda, the Coombe and Holles Street hospitals were each given the power to appoint one head each to take control of all aspects of the hospital’s clinical and administrative areas.
Dr Mahony is a specialist in foetal and maternal medicine and, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, has had her research into topics such as maternal weight gain and pelvic floor injuries following childbirth published in international medical journals.
The last annual report issued by NMH Holles Street – for 2010 – warned that the hospital was under “serious infrastructural constraints” and that its goal was to move to the St Vincent’s University Hospital campus. Dr Mahony, in an interview with the Irish Times last May on the announcement of her forthcoming promotion, would not comment on the proposed move.
Pics by Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland
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Congratulations to Dr Rhona Mahony and the very best wishes in new post
Can we expect more women friendly attitudes within the hospital now? Will she, as a woman and mother, begin to implement WHO best practices which have been largely ignored by the Irish Maternity system and will we see more midwife led units which are lower cost to the HSE and ultimately the tax payer. I really hope we begin to see our first female ‘master’ make positive changes within the maternity system.
Can’t like this comment enough.
Jo, there are so many things wrong with the maternity system at the moment which many people do not realise are not best practice and result in horrific injuries to the mother but are largely ignored. AML has a lot to answer for and our c-section rate is not rising because we are too posh to push but through a cascade of interventions and a ticking clock.
Oh, you’re preaching to the converted.
Hi EMD, can I remind you that the system of obstetrician led midwife delivered care in Ireland costs a third of the obstetric care in the NHS. The Caesarian section rate is indeed rising, but your claim that it is as a result of interventions is incorrect, as a C.S. is an intervention. It’s quite difficult to explain why in a simple post, but no C.S. is ever taken lightly. Irish obstetricians are not profligate C.S. performers, the health of the baby and mother will always remain their priority.
I hate when people kind of look down on those who had C Sections, I have had 3 not out of choice I might add, my first time was pretty surreal I went through 20 hours of hell for 8 cm that’s when she went in to distress, all I can say is the team i had were excellent, shit happens as normal it happens me, straight to the theatre and C section straight away, no shit, 2nd child went 2 weeks over he did not even drop as he was quite big shouldered and weighed nearly 10 pounds and 3rd was pretty much elective. I think every mum thinks that’s everything’s going to run as smooth as clock work sometimes it doesn’t, some 1st time mums have horrific births, my grand mother had 7, 1 in the national mat and the other 6 were all home births bar the last home birth which was stillborn the one ended up with ceribal palsy was the one born in the hospital, left in labour too long had there been an intervention soon my mum would not have been deprived of oxygen at birth. My only gripe with the national mat hos is the active birth plain(not 100% sure that’s it’s correct name) but when some one says their in labour they should not be fobbed off because once labour hits in you sure as hell know what it is.
NOBODY is looking down on people who have had sections. That is a complete misperception, truly. Many of us are frustrated at a system that discourages or denies proven methods of assisting and encouraging natural labour and pushes women through an under resourced hopsital system that is unable to or refuses to offer women much choice.
Sometimes sections are necessary – no one is arguing that. It’s just medical knowledge and best birth practice has proven that it’s more like 12 – 15 % of the time. Not 30% plus…
@Sean Armstrong ” the system of obstetrician led midwife delivered care in Ireland costs a third of the obstetric care in the NHS” says it all really, consultants are not needed for the majority of women, the midwife already deliver the care so why are we paying for consultants for women who do not have any medical requirements? Pregnancy is not an illness and in most cases a doctor is not required at any stage and only if a medical doctor is required is when they need to be involved in the pregnancy and chidlbirth of most women. In the UK, I have been through the system there, most women do not see a doctor at all throughout their pregnancy seeing their midwives up to a few weeks postnatal so I am not sure how you can compare the obstetric system in the NHS to here?
C-sections are becoming more common largely due to the cascade of interventions which are routinely practised in many maternity hospitals in Ireland, ARM, augmentation of labour and then the oft quoted “failure to progress” are the reaon many women end up in theatre. The insistence of certain hospitals on continuous foetal monitoring and delivery on your back is also a contributor to this increase and the number of assisted births. C-section is indeed an intervention but all too often the last in a long series of unecessary intervention as a result of failure to recognise that different women progress differently in labour and that most of us will eventually give birth ourselves without the constant reminder of the clock ticking in the background. More often than not women are “told” that they have to do x, y and z as if they have no choice and also too often the health of the baby is used as a stick if we dare to question the need for a particular intervention. What many woen don’t realise is that WE do not have to lie down and do as we are told as we are perfectly able and entitled to query our care. If we were really ill in hospital receiving treatment for a serious illness we would be consulted about our care so why does that not carry across when we are not ill merely pregnant? MLU are a cost saver and the vast majority of women will be able to go through their pregnancy to post-natal without ever seeing a doctor.
I had a c-section in the UK for an undiagnosed breech but I was ASKED how I wanted to deliver, c-section or vaginal and being a first timer I felt safer going for c-section. Next baby NMH and dear God what a difference, overcrowded, told had to have waters broke as hospital policy, doing fine until shift change and biatch midwife forces me onto bed in transition, shouted at me to be quiet, forced me to have scalp monitor because it was hospital policy for VBAC. I was so vulnerable and she bullied me and my husband. Read some of the other coments from women on here and on the various Irish parenting sites and you will see the result of NMH policies and intervention.
Good luck Dr Mahony , I really hope you can make a positive impact.
@ Jo not every woman is able to give birth naturally and in even before the 1st birth you have zero inclination of that, women have stress free pregnancies just to find at the final hurdle they need help
Dr Mahony saved our daughter in June 2011. We wish her all the best in her new role and in everything she’s does. Super team too. Thanks again…
They have just spent 180 million building a new block containing state of the art operating theatre and clinical rooms, why would they build such a thing to then move to Vincent’s ?
No in fact they just built a single operating room onto the existing ones. No such building in place in Holles Street at the moment.
@sean Armstrong, your talking through your arse pal! I’m workin on the project, it’s adjoined to the existing theatre via new doorways that were originally windows, the new theatre and ancillary rooms are contained in it’s own separate block in the 3 rd floor, floors 1 and 2 are left bare with no fit out,
Delighted to read this. Having had a pretty horrific experience there during the labour of my 2nd child and meeting the previous incumbent this is reassuring. Very best of luck to her, hopefully she can make the much needed improvements albeit under pretty significant financial restrictions.
@Josephine I think the financial restrictions could be less so if the creacking maternity system in Ireland began to model itself more on midwife led care and less on consultant led care. Midwife led maternity units are suitable for most women and then the high risk cases can be seen by the consultants who are the medical experts in the cases of non-normal or high risk pregnancies. For what it is worth I didn’t have a particularly pleasant experience there in 2004 and the hospital was hugely over crowded then so can only imagine the pressure poor women must be under now to comply with the ticking clock of Active Management of Labour. Horrendous, horrendous experiences are becoming increasingly more common amongst friends and acquaintances particularly when they are having their first baby and are therefore even more vulnerable.
Best of luck to Dr Mahony in her new role. As a former patient who hopes never to set foot in the place again, regardless of budgetary constraints I would sincerely hope she can encourage her staff to be honest with and listen to patients. I thank god every day I have my son in spite of the exceptionally poor quality of care I received – on two separate occasions. I know there are positive and negative stories in all hospitals but I had to secure my medical records to learn the truth, something that honest dialogue would have resolved years earlier.
Just have to thank former master dr. Michael robson who delivered my 3 beautiful children in ’06 ’08 &’09 for his care& attention for my family & best of luck for his future career
Why are the hse hell bent on moving all health care away from the city centre? Adelaide, Meath and children’s to tallaght also taking the huge children’s hospital in crumlin to the mater( probably one of the most inaccessible parts of the city) doesn’t make sense. What will happen to the land in crumlin, no money in land now so what’s the motive for a move
Wondering if any of those who had a bad experience at Holles St ever made a complaint to the hospital? Wish I had because it’s an awful state of affairs when somebody says they’d prefer to give birth in a taxi – and that I’d have to agree with them!
I don’t have any first time knowledge of national mat hos but my mum had my lil sister there she was born at 25 weeks and she was told she was not in labour now this is a good 20 yrs after she had me so she wasn’t some first time mum, unfortunately nothing was in place they did not even have an incubator ready never mind a doctor she had a midwife and student midwife, it was terrible can’t say the same for unit 8 they were fantastic spent 6 months going in and out til my sisters death and swore I’d never go back 4 yrs later I went to the Coombe to have my 1st, where I was actually listened to and had a positive experience
So sad to hear about your sister. Unfortunately by 2007 they still hadn’t got it sussed and that was in the “boom years”. They had no ward for us to go to and although my son was full term he was 5lb10ozs and couldn’t regulate his body temperature as he was so small so should have been placed in an incubator but they didn’t have one. Instead they placed the baby inside my nightdress to keep him as warm as possible – even overnight. This despite parents being told never to sleep with their newborns.
I’ve since heard so many positive stories about the Coombe, particularly from people who had a previous child at Holles St that if I ever have another there’s no doubt as to where I’d be going.
@EMD I couldnt agree more Midwife led care is the way to go. However this was not an option for me as I was out of the catchment area for midwife led care. In my opinion there needs to be more of an emphasis on what the type of birth that the mother requires and birth plans should be common place as they are in other countries. My ‘downfall’ was going into labour on a weekend, one theater not open so my emergency c-section could did not happen for 4 hrs after it was clear I could not dilate past 7cm, the oxitocin drip was continued to be administered in error and the anesthetist was too busy in theater to top up my epidural during those 4hrs. The aftercare I recieved wasn’t much better either.
Should I decide to have more children Holles Street hospital is a big no no for me … I’d rather give birth in the back of a taxi.
@TheMarketingS I made a formal complaint and eventually I was called in to met with the Master, Dr. Robson and the Director of Midwifery. My Objective in meeting with them was to get some assurances that another woman or baby would endure the treatment we experienced. The meeting certainly didn’t instill me with any confidence that that m would be the case. In fact I found Robson m to be defensive throughout and eventually 90mins into the meeting he admitted that I should not have experienced the lack of care that I did.
IMO the entire maternity system in Ireland needs an overhaul we are far behind the rest of Europe in this regard.
Well done Josephine on making the complaint and yes the entire system does need an overhaul. Having thought about it since this post went up I will finally be making a formal complaint myself. I may not achieve anything from it, particularly as we are 4 years down the line but I’ve written the letter several times over the years and not sent it as I couldn’t even face the idea of going back into the building to meet with them should I get the chance. However there are questions to be answered and I know too many people who’ve been traumatised since then also. So, for 2012 I’ve just added dealing with Holles St to my list of resolutions – thank you!
Hi Josephine I just sent you a fb message about this.
Good for you, I actually considered not bothering but the whole experience was so traumatic that it was affecting other areas of my life and I needed some form of closure. Even getting it down on paper offered some form of relief. You might not get the answers you require but least you can rest assured that you have done all you can to deal with the matter. Very best of luck with it : )
Why could she not be called the Mistress of the Rotunda? It’s not like she’d be the first mistress to end up there.
Think she’ll do a great job. Was a fantastic teacher and helper of us students back in the day, always had time to listen to us and never turned us away when we had questions. I’m sure she’s the same with her patients. Best of luck Dr Mahony.
Beautiful LADY.
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