Liz McManus
Ceist:13 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Health and Children the steps he intends to take to deal with the shortage of midwives in the greater Dublin area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25589/01]
Written Answers. - Maternity Services.
Paul McGrath
Ceist:47 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason a crisis has developed in the availability of midwives in the three Dublin maternity hospitals. [25558/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 47 together.
In response to a request from the Irish Nurses Organisation, I have established a special forum to examine the current difficulties being experienced by the three Dublin maternity hospitals in recruiting and retaining midwives.
The forum includes representatives of the three maternity hospitals, my Department, the Health Service Employers Agency, the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the nursing unions. It held its first meeting on 19 October, and has been asked to report back to me as a matter of urgency with recommendations to address the current difficulties.
There are parallel discussions taking place between the three maternity hospitals and the Eastern Regional Health Authority regarding service issues.
I want to set the record straight in relation to the extent of the midwifery shortages in the Dublin area. Media reports of 110 midwifery posts vacant in the three Dublin maternity hospitals are incorrect. Information received by my Department recently indicates that while the three hospitals are short 84 midwives, the net vacancy situation is actually 54 posts, when account is taken of the number of registered general nurses that have been employed by the hospitals.
The reasons for the present staffing difficulties have been identified by the steering group overseeing the study of the nursing and midwifery resource. In its interim report, the steering group indicated that the shortage of nurses is most acute in the Dublin area where the cost of housing and traffic problems are making it increasingly difficult not only to recruit but also to retain nurses and midwives. The ongoing development of specialist health services throughout the country has also swelled the traditional movement of nurses from the Dublin area.
Another factor contributing to the pressure on the obstetric services in Dublin, as identified by the Eastern Regional Health Authority, is the increased number of births in the Eastern region in recent years from 20,646 births in 1996 to 22,813 in 2000, with a further increase expected in 2001. There has been direct negotiations between the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the three Dublin maternity hospitals to specifically discuss service issues that are affecting work load.
A significant contributory factor to the current pressures is the level of referrals from outside the Eastern region. Approximately 10% of activity in the Dublin maternity hospitals relates to persons resident outside of the Eastern region. The ERHA has recommended to the Dublin maternity hospitals that referrals from outside the region should be based on an assessment by a consultant in the women's own region that such a referral is warranted on clinical grounds.
The provision of a comprehensive, safe and high quality obstetric service for the Eastern Region will continue to be of the utmost priority. In this context, I want to assure the House that I will act on the recommendations of the special forum, whose report I expect within the next few weeks.