Limerick hospital warns of impending maternity crisis

Consultants at Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital have reportedly warned that they may be forced to turn pregnant women away because staff levels are too low to ensure safe deliveries.

Reports this morning said the hospital currently had one consultant for every 750 births. The Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology recommends a consultant patient ratio of 1:500 to ensure safe deliveries.

This morning’s reports said a move to cap deliveries in Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital would have enormous consequences because the facility is the only public maternity hospital in the Mid-Western Health Board region.

In recent weeks, the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin also warned that it may have to turn away pregnant women because it did not have the space to safely deal with the demand for its services.

Consultants at Tralee General Hospital have also reportedly warned that their services are under “enormous strain” due to soaring birth rates and that the situation was potentially dangerous.