Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
HEALTH MINISTER STEPHEN Donnelly has said each maternity unit in Ireland is being contacted today to inform them of the guidance on the lifting of maternity restrictions in hospitals nationwide.
Speaking to reporters this morning, he said: ”At this point, I am getting quite frustrated with the lack of progress and I know the HSE is as well.”
Restrictions remain in place in certain hospitals, with protesters gathering outside the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin yesterday.
The HSE advises allowing partners to accompany a woman during labour and childbirth. Partners should also be permitted to attend the 20-week scan and other appointments if deemed necessary.
The Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said this week there is “no good reason” for maternity hospitals to continue to restrict visits from partners.
Maternity hospitals and units set individual restrictions, so exclusions on partners attending scans and the early stages of labour still apply in some hospitals.
The health minister said today if maternity units believe there are safety issues in easing restrictions then the onus is on them to make that case back to the HSE.
Donnelly said he spoke to the HSE boss Paul Reid this morning about the matter, and as a result, all 19 maternity units are being contacted.
“They are being told very clearly what the guidance is from the chief medical officer that at the minimum there is access to the 20 week scan for birth and neonatal and that any maternity unit that doesn’t believe that is appropriate or safe at the moment must prove a case back,” he said.
He said that information is being compiled today and a report will be ready for the minister later today.
A number of TDs and senators, such as Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns and Fianna Fáil Senator Lisa Chambers, have been highlighting the issue in recent weeks, calling for change so that women and their partners can be together during the birth of their child, and for important scans.
Last week, The Journal reported multiple experiences of women impacted by partner restrictions during pregnancy and birth.
At the beginning of the year, this publication also highlighted the hundreds of emails sent to the health minister and other government members detailing their stories of being left alone when being told tragic news at maternity hospitals.
The Journal contacted some hospital groups yesterday for clarification of their individual maternity visitation policies in place.
The National Maternity Hospital allows partners to attend the 20-week scan, the labour ward or C-section theatre, and inpatient visits for a limited time to postnatal, antenatal or gynaecology wards.
A statement from the Ireland East Hospital Group said some of its maternity units “cannot further ease partner restrictions” at the moment due to the “high amount” of Covid-19 in the community and infrastructure issues at hospitals.
The Regional Hospital in Mullingar and Wexford General Hospital allow partners to attend the 20-week scan and active labour and scheduled caesarean sections.
In St Luke’s General Hospital Carlow/Kilkenny, the group statement said it hopes to facilitate partners at the 20-week scan “as soon as possible”. Partners can currently attend active labour and scheduled C-sections.
Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise said partners can attend the anatomy scan, birth once a woman is admitted to the delivery suite, C-sections and the postnatal ward for an hour.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
I be more worried about their victims’ waiting times
Who is caring for/monitoring that woman while she is on bail?
Waiting time for mental health services for the general public is hugely long, why should prisoners be any different?
This government couldn’t care less about the mental health of its people.
@Carm(Orange Vampire): would you really want dangerous people becoming more unwell and even more dangerous! Stemming the progression at the earliest onset is in everyone’s best interest, prisoners and ours
@Jason: most prisoners are on a trajectory that the basic help provided through the prison services is not going to help long term
@Carm(Orange Vampire):
How is every single thing in this country a disaster/over crowded/under funded/long waiting lists etc etc?
Why can nothing run smoothly?
A great little country for American multinationals and hedge funds and a lousy one for its citizens.
@Ronaldo Blanc: hear hear
@Ronaldo Blanc: If these American multinationals were not here we would still be going around on horse and cart and you would have nuns and priests running run down old dilapidated hellholes that nobody would dare visit…..who do you think are paying the bills?, the farmers lol…..kop on and think just a little before you point the finger. Its our rotten government that have the country a mess, them and their public service buddies and private sector criminals creaming every last drop out of the place….
@Ronaldo Blanc: It’s citizens are responsible for the mess they’re in because it’s citizens continue to vote the same degenerates in to govern them. People have to take responsibility for their actions and Irish voters are responsible for voting in the government. You can’t blame corrupt politicians for being corrupt when corruption is all they have demonstrated since the state came into existence. The blame falls squarely on the voters who continually put them in a position to exercise their corrupt ways and “cream every last drop out of the place”. So if Irish people want someone to blame for their woes they need only look in a mirror.
As for American multinationals; since we have no indigenous industry worth a mention we need to generate income some other way and this means prostituting ourselves out to whoever is willing to pay. Thanks to our corrupt politicians this has historically been American multinationals.
It’s not ok to not be ok in Ireland because Ireland inc can’t help you
@Tony Henry: Mental health is way down the government’s list of priorities and they don’t give a flying f***. Ask any parent of a child on a waiting list for a MH service and you’ll see. They just don’t care.
Would like to take issue with your headline of “prisoners with severe conditions” these are people with Mental Heath issues in dire need of Help where they should be classed as “patients” where the services they need are been Starved of resources
@Eamonn Tierney: while they are in prison they are still prisoners. If they move to the CMH they then become patients.
How is every single thing in this country a disaster/over crowded/under funded/long waiting lists etc etc?
Why can nothing run smoothly?
Typical Banana Republic Of Ireland!
An absolute joke of a country!
When the poor, the mentally ill and former prisoners begin to vote regularly, things will change. Politicians feel no pressure to protect these groups.
I was brought up very close to Dundrum ‘Asylum’ as it was called back then. It was a dark dank place to visit and a dangerous one. It was done up and improved but there is always the risk of a sudden burst of violence and some of these people are so ill, that they will kill. Hence not the nicest of environments to work in.
I believe that many political prisioners are psycopaths just as laypeople who are killers are and I believe in Ireland that Mental illness is way down the list of priorities infact a lot of funding has been taken away from Day Centres and call in centres which are preventative, but our Govt is longterm stupid and short term wise.
have your say