Vol. 572 No. 2
18 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health and Children the progress made to date on the plan to provide responsive, high quality maternity care as promised in action 58 of Quality and Fairness, a Health System for You. [22587/03]
Quality and Fairness recognised that models of maternity care are changing, with increasing demands for choice with regard to type of care and location of birth. In view of the changing needs and pressures on existing services, action 58 provides for the establishment of a working party to prepare a plan for the future development of the maternity services. The objective of this development is to ensure that maternity care is woman-centred, equitable across the country, accessible, safe and accountable.
It was anticipated that this working party would be established in 2002 and report this year. The report of the domiciliary births group established by the health board chief executive officers' group will be particularly relevant in this context.
The domiciliary births group has commissioned an external evaluation of the three pilot home birth projects in Dublin, Cork and Galway, and the service in the South-Eastern Health Board area. This evaluation is due for completion in mid-November 2003. The domiciliary births group will then engage in a public consultation process and report to the chief executive officers in February/March 2004. The group's report will inform the development of future national policies, procedures and protocols for domiciliary births.
In relation to the North-Eastern Health Board area, the Deputy will be aware of the publication of the report of the maternity services review group to the North-Eastern Health Board, chaired by Kinder, in 2002, and of the recently published Comhairle na nOspidéal report of the committee reviewing maternity and related services in the North-Eastern Health Board area. The future configuration of maternity, obstetrical and gynaecological services in that board's area, is being informed, inter alia, by the recommendations of these reports.
