‘No maternity hospital has enough midwives’

No maternity hospital or unit in the country has enough midwives for safe baby care, according a survey by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

The union said the survey conducted over a week last month showed that the maternity service needed over 554 midwives to reach the recommended staffing level.

The survey found that internationally recommended midwife-to-birth ratio of 1:29.5 births was not in place in any of the 19 maternity hospitals and units. The ratio varied from 1:32 at Mayo General Hospital’s maternity unit to 1:55 at Portlaoise and a national average of 1:38.