The provision of maternity services at Dundalk County Hospital is a matter for the North-Eastern Health Board. The report of the review group on maternity services in the North-Eastern Health Board which was completed in November last recommended that consultant-led maternity services at Monaghan and Dundalk should cease due to concerns about patient safety; a pilot centre for midwife-led obstetric services should be established in Dundalk; and a consultant-led delivery units should be located at Drogheda and Cavan. I have been advised that the health board decided not to accept in full the recommendations in the review group's report and that it unanimously approved the establishment of a further review with a broader remit. This further review will reflect on the potential for cross-Border co-operation and the requirements of spatial planning as anticipated in the national development plan. The review group has been established and is scheduled to report by 7 September to the board.
At the request of the board, I met the chairman and members of the board on 30 January 2001. I wrote to the chairman on 5 February and I expressed my firm view that the way forward for maternity services is to put in place services which comply with safety standards and internationally recognised best practice. I also stated that it was imperative that the board establish and finalise a clear view on what services will be provided at each hospital in the region, the new services requiring to be developed and the enhancement of existing services in the light of the £160 million NDP funding which has been notified to the board.
I have also been advised that at a special meeting on 5 February the board further considered the question of maternity services at both Monaghan and Dundalk. The board mandated the chief executive officer to seek, as a matter of urgency, approval for the appointment of temporary consultant obstetricians to Cavan-Monaghan and Louth-Meath Hospital groups to facilitate the continuation of maternity services at both Monaghan and Dundalk and to seek, in addition, approval for the immediate appointment of on-site paediatric cover at both hospitals. The approval of any such posts is a matter for An Chomhairle, which is the statutory body set up to regulate appointments of consultant medical staff in hospitals providing services under the Health Acts.