Dispute ‘will not delay opening of maternity unit’

A DISPUTE by midwives working at a private hospital will not delay the opening of Cork’s new centralised maternity service the Health Service Executive (HSE) said last night.

The €75 million Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) will open its door as planned on March 24, it said.

Up to 90 midwives at the Bon Secours Hospital are in dispute with management over their plans to shut down its obstetrics unit on March 1 — a decision taken in the wake of plans to develop CUMH.