Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 1 Feb 1994

Vol. 438 No. 1

Written Answers. - Dublin Maternity Hospitals.

Richard Bruton

Question:

135 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health, in respect of each of the three Dublin maternity hospitals and for each of the last five years, the numbers of medical staff, the budget provided from Exchequer resources, and the number of pregnancies in respect of which service was provided.

Minister for Health (Mr. Howlin)

The data requested by the Deputy is set out below in the following tabular statement.

The data provided needs to be read in light of the fact that each of the three maternity hospitals has increased its overall level of staffing over the period 1988 to 1992. The respective increases in total staffing were as follows:

National Maternity Hospital	44
Coombe	20
Rotunda	45

This increase in staffing levels together with the decline in the number of births has meant an improvement in the quality of service not just in obstetrics but in gynaecological and other services provided by the hospitals as well. This is even allowing for the marginal increase in the number of births over the period in the National Maternity Hospital.

Number of Employees expressed in total wholetime equivalence in the Medical/Dental Grade Category¹

Year	National Maternity Hospital	Rotunda	Coombe
1988	34.16	44.05	32.93
1989	35.24	45.04	40.78
1990	44.24	45.16	39.38
1991	37.63	39.88	39.86
1992	37.63	38.70	39.75

Source Department of Health Services Personnel Census taken at 31 December for each year.

¹It should be noted that comparable personnel data for 1993 is currently being compiled.

Revised Allocations

	Revised Allocation 1989	Revised Allocation 1990	Revised Allocation 1991	Revised Allocation 1992	Revised Allocation 1993
	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m
Coombe	8.086	9.087	10.201	11.285	12.003
Holles Street	7.738	8.698	9.669	10.901	11.577
Rotunda	7.609	8.514	9.510	10.643	11.698

Number of Live Births in the Three Dublin Maternity Hospitals: 1989 to 1993

Hospital/Year	1989	1990	1991*	1992*	1993*
Coombe	6,617	6,722	6,954	6,550	6,330
National Maternity	6,316	6,287	6,247	6,256	6,337
Rotunda	5,847	5,831	6,074	5,649	5,521

*Provisional figures.