HSE 'doing the right thing' in suspending home births in Mid-West — Donnelly

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has ruled out reopening now-closed emergency departments in Clare and North Tipperary despite acknowledging 'unacceptable' levels of overcrowding. File picture:Gareth Chaney/ Collins 

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said the suspension of home births in the Mid-West region could ultimately lead to a better-resourced service. 

Home births have been suspended pending a review in Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary following the death of Laura Liston, who was giving birth at home in Limerick on June 5.

Mr Donnelly described the death of Ms Liston as an "awful tragedy" but despite concerns from the Community Midwives Association at the suspension of the home births programme, he said the HSE was "doing the right thing”.

They have temporarily stopped the service. They’re putting in place a team with very serious expertise to look at the protocols, to look at the case, and to assure themselves and therefore be able to assure women in the region that the service has everything it needs."

Mr Donnelly said any lessons to be learned, or recommendations in terms of changing protocols or changing models of care, will be rolled out nationally.

Despite the suspension of the home birth service, expectant mothers can still access services by registering with maternity hospitals outside of the region.

Emergency departments

Meanwhile, Mr Donnelly has ruled out reopening now-closed emergency departments in Clare and North Tipperary despite acknowledging “unacceptable” levels of overcrowding and delays at University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) has raised serious concerns about patient safety at UHL.

Mr Donnelly said the views of medical experts on the reopening of emergency departments were "unambiguous" against such a move. 

"The reason they would say no is that if you’ve got something seriously wrong with you, and you go into a small hospital — Nenagh has 60 beds —  that doesn't have all the specialities, and maybe you'll need one of those specialities. It's not there — now you're in trouble, because now they have to get you to the bigger hospital anyway, and time matters in these cases.” 

As well as additional beds and resources, local injury clinics will have to take on more of the load to alleviate pressure on the Limerick emergency department, he said.

Mr Donnelly said he had “directed the HSE to significantly increase the number of emergency medicine consultants” at UHL.

What I want to see in UHL is senior decision-makers on the floor, 16 hours a day, seven days a week.” 

“In Limerick, and in a lot of emergency departments, if you present late on a Friday night, and you need a scan, there may be no diagnostics available to you until the Monday morning or indeed the Tuesday by the time they've cleared the backlog. The solution to that is to run the diagnostic machines over the weekend, so that requires more resourcing again."

After a recent spike in Covid cases, Mr Donnelly said the Government was not considering a return of mandatory mask-wearing in shops, public transport, and schools, but accepted the country was now “in the middle of another Covid surge”, which will put further pressure on hospitals.