Dublin hospitals warn of midwife crisis

Pregnant women could be turned away from Ireland’s top three maternity hospitals because of a critical shortage of midwives, it emerged today.

Managers have warned that with more nurses turning to better-paid jobs, and the cost of living in Dublin rocketing, hospitals will be legally forced to refuse patients.

The three Dublin hospitals, Holles Street, Rotunda and Coombe have 110 vacancies for midwives and will be forced to operate a quota system unless staff numbers are greatly increased, said Dr Declan Keane, a senior doctor at Holles Street.

‘‘If numbers continue to drop, from a medical-legal point of view and from a clinical risk point of view, there are only a certain number of patients we can deal with,’’ he said.

‘‘The effect of that could be that we are turning away Dublin mothers who are pregnant and saying Holles Street, Rotunda and Coombe cannot accommodate you, you will have to deliver your baby elsewhere.’’

Many midwives were quitting to work as better-paid public health nurses, he said.

‘‘The lure of a job which is a Monday to Friday job, nine until five, no weekends, no night duty, has great appeal without the hassle of working in a busy Dublin maternity ward.

‘‘Public health nurses are now paid £6,500 a year more than a midwife, so the combination of an easier workload and an increased salary has got to draw people away.’’

Last year Holles Street had to operate an early release scheme, with first-time mothers leaving hospital 48 hours after giving birth, and those having a second or later child going home 24 hours after giving birth.

The strategy might have to be used again, said Dr Keane.

Those who could not get a bed would have to go to hospitals in Drogheda, Mullingar or Kilkenny.

The public services union Siptu has called for a working group to be set up to assess the crisis.

‘‘It would need to look at a monthly reward for working in Dublin and some sort of initiative on housing and accommodation in Dublin,’’ said a union spokesman.

Health Minister Michael Martin said there were no plans for a Dublin allowance, but added that schemes to retain midwives were being drawn up.

‘‘Within the Dublin area there has been unprecedented pressure on the maternity hospitals and there has been leakage of staff from them,’’ he said.

‘‘It is a difficult area but we will be focusing on the retention of midwives in the major maternity hospitals across the country.

‘‘We are preparing specific proposals that have be agreed with the unions and the Nursing Alliance on midwifery itself.’’

He would not disclose details of the proposals until he had spoken to the unions.

Students were currently undergoing three year direct-entry diplomas and there had been initiatives to pay certain fees to increase recruitment, he said.

He added: ‘‘We estimate that there will be around 3,000 births this year from asylum-seekers or people coming into the country and that has without question placed pressure on the maternity hospitals in Dublin.’’