Press Release | 12th August 2021
#BetterMaternityCare call for a ‘Roadmap For Maternity Services’ after compliance fact check reveals all 19 maternity units fall foul of HSE Guidelines
The #BetterMaternityCare campaign today called on the Cabinet Subcommittee on Covid-19, to announce a detailed Roadmap for Maternity Services by the end of August.
The call came after the campaign fact checked claims made last week by HSE Chiefs Paul Reid and Dr Colm Henry that all 19 maternity units were compliant with HSE guidelines. The fact check revealed that not a single maternity unit in the country was compliant with all 8 areas specified by HSE guidelines.
Linda Kelly, one of the campaigners involved in the fact check and who gave birth herself under the Covid restrictions said: “It’s simply not possible to continue with this charade of compliance where the HSE says one thing, hospitals do another and women, their partners and their families are left to navigate the mess.”
Linda continued: “Our fact check reveals that all 19 maternity units are failing to meet the minimum standard of care set out in the HSE guidelines in one or more areas. The areas with the highest levels of non-compliance are emergency presentations and high risk antenatal clinics.”
Petition starter Caroline Cumming who gave birth recently said: “It is unbelievable to think that 18 months into this pandemic, we haven’t found solutions to support the safe delivery of maternity services – a planned, essential healthcare service.”
Caroline continued: “It’s really important that this doesn’t continue and that we get all stakeholders together to discuss real solutions like Covid testing for partners, the use of Antigen testing, relocation of antenatal clinics – whatever it takes to ensure that partners are no longer excluded from the maternity journey.”
Emma Carroll, a first time mum who gave birth in April 2020 said: “The HSE have repeatedly said that if a hospital isn’t complying with the guidelines then they must publish the risk assessments underpinning those decisions. We have yet to see any risk assessment published from any unit. This lack of transparency is really problematic and highlights the poor oversight and governance of maternity services in Ireland.”
Uplift Director, Siobhan O'Donoghue concluded: “thousands of people have shown their support for maternity care that puts pregnant women and people at the centre. We are determined that Covid19 and the approach to restrictions will not force maternity care into a backward slide. It’s time for the Cabinet Subcommittee to deliver a detailed Roadmap for Maternity Services and to do so by the end of August”
NOTES:
Fact check – Hospital compliance with HSE Guidelines: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u2ptvLDTcipsgPImQI1yE8Ac4zKz25RxxPBxQPKciAk/edit?usp=sharing
To read the details of the experiences of being pregnant during Covid 19 - https://www.uplift.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Being-Pregnant-During-Covid19-1.pdf
Petition signed by over 60,000 people - https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/lift-restrictions-on-maternity-care
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