Dan Neville
Question:301 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans, if any, his Department has to ensure that there is equality of access to the maternity services in all health board areas in view of the high disparity in the number of consultant obstetricians between health board areas; the plans, if any, he has to ensure that there is equality of access between the Mid-Western Health Board region and Dublin and other regions; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that, in practice, a pregnant woman in Limerick has considerably reduced access to senior medical personnel compared with a woman having her baby in Dublin or Galway, and that the quality of care is consequently inferior and there is potential for more adverse outcomes; his views on whether there is a serious problem evolving in maternity services; whether the facilities and staffing levels will prove entirely inadequate if energetic action is not taken by his Department at this stage; and whether his Department will be proactive, and not simply reactive, to this crisis. [18915/97]