Urgent referral service set up in Rotunda for pregnant Ukrainian refugees

While the rapid access clinic is based in the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, the senior midwife can refer to any unit nationally.

The Department of Health has said a specific urgent referral service has been set up at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin for pregnant women arriving into the country from Ukraine.

The HSE is providing care support at emergency accommodation, including for expectant mothers who’ve fled since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, the Department has admitted Ireland has “acknowledged capacity challenges” within its hospital system at present and it is not yet possible to estimate the additional expenditure required to meet the health needs of Ukrainian refugees.

Around 15,000 people from Ukraine have arrived into the country since the start of the war, and many thousands more are expected in the coming weeks and months.

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Since the invasion in February, millions of Ukrainians have become internally displaced with many, mostly women and children, fleeing into neighbouring countries. The Irish Examiner reported earlier this week that crisis measures such as tented villages will be needed to provide temporary homes for refugees.

In material provided by the Department of Health in response to a parliamentary question, it set out the measures in place for pregnant refugees coming into Ireland.

It said that all expectant mothers living here are entitled to free maternity care and refugees will also be entitled to apply for a medical card for each adult and child dependent.

“In conjunction with the National Women’s and Infant Health Programme, a specific urgent referral service at the Rotunda Hospital, for pregnant women near term or those who require urgent access for assessment (e.g. foetal scans), has been put in place,” it said.

A senior midwife has been assigned to take calls from GPs and public health to fast-track appointments for maternity cases and rapidly establish contact between maternity services and women who need care. While the rapid access clinic is based in Dublin, the senior midwife can refer to any unit nationally.

Enhanced translation services have also been put in place and communicated to all services including GPs, the Department said. It added that these services would be monitored.

However, it also pointed out that the already-strained capacity in the hospital system and primary and community sector have been exacerbated by the pandemic and last year’s cyberattack on the HSE.

“Work to address these capacity deficits is underway,” the department said. “It is not possible at this early stage to estimate the additional expenditure required to meet the health needs of Ukrainian refugees.” 

In the short term, the Department said it hopes to have more comprehensive daily information for services on the resident profile for each hotel or accommodation site for refugees in order to directly inform the response needed from health services.