Vol. 549 No. 1
112 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Health and Children if his Department has concluded its consideration of the recommendations of the special forum established to examine difficulties being experienced by the three Dublin maternity hospitals in recruiting and retaining midwives; if it is intended to implement the recommendations; if he will outline the main recommendations made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5782/02]
The forum on Dublin maternity hospitals made a number of recommendations to improve the capacity of the hospitals concerned to recruit and retain midwives. These include: (a) introduction of shift leaders, 105 experienced staff midwives to be upgraded to clinical midwife manager in each of the larger in-patient clinical areas within the hospitals; (b) upgrading of experienced clinical midwife managers – two in the labour-delivery suite in each of the three hospitals to clinical midwife manager three level – 18 upgradings in all; (c) introduction of midwifery practice development co-ordinator at assistant matron level and clinical skills facilitator posts, CMM2 level, at each of the three hospitals in order to provide additional support to student midwives and newly qualified midwives, a total of six posts and (d) payment of a full salary to general nurses undertaking midwifery education in return for a commitment to work as a midwife with the training hospital for two years following qualification. At present a nurse is paid on the first point of the staff nurse scale for the two year duration of the midwifery education programme. Under the forum's proposal the nurse would retain her existing pay and receive an increment during the second year of training. Another recommendation made by the forum is that a review be carried out by the National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery of criteria for the establishment of clinical midwife specialist positions. These recommendations have been considered by my Department having regard to the pressures on the Dublin maternity hospitals and the cost and other implications of the measures proposed.
With regard to the last recommendation, I wrote to the National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery last week requesting that a review of the criteria for the establishment of clinical midwife specialist positions be carried out. I asked the council to let me have a report setting out its considered views in the matter as quickly as possible. It is my intention to make this report available to all interested parties, as recommended by the forum.
