Minister claims 'significant progress' in infant and maternity care

The National Women & Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) was established in the HSE to lead the management, organisation and delivery of maternity, gynaecology and neonatal services.

“Significant progress” was made in infant and maternity care in 2021, despite the challenges of Covid-19, the Health Minister has said.

Findings in the annual report for the National Women & Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) for 2021, launched on Tuesday, highlight many welcome, if sometimes modest, achievements.

In 2021, a further eight obstetrician/gynaecologist consultants were funded nationally. Lactation consultants are now in place in all 19 maternity services, with 7.5 whole-time equivalents of these positions funded through the NWIHP in 2021.

All 19 maternity services are now providing midwifery-led care in the supported care pathway. Advanced midwife practitioners now work in all 19 maternity services, with an additional six funded in 2021.

Some 15 maternity services are now offering early transfer home, while 12 maternity services have Home-from-Home rooms, which facilitate birthing in less clinical delivery rooms.

A revised implementation plan for the National Maternity Strategy was published in Q4 of 2021, which sets out in detail the roadmap to ensure the National Maternity Strategy is implemented in full within the timeframe originally intended.

The first specialised menopause clinic was opened in December 2021 in the National Maternity Hospital.

With funding secured from the Women’s Health Taskforce, NWIHP worked with Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) to develop a specialist referral pathway for women with very complex endometriosis. Funding was invested in TUH in 2021 to build capacity for dealing with complex endometrial cases, requiring invasive surgery.

By the end of 2021, all six regional fertility hubs had been funded and approved, with four hubs fully operational and the remaining two projected to open in 2022.

In 2021, the birth rate rose for the first time in 12 years to 60,536 babies born, a 6.47% increase from the birth rate in 2020.

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Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: “The investment and developments we are seeing in women’s health demonstrate that this area is now receiving the focus and support it needs to provide timely and effective services to the women of Ireland.

“The National Women’s and Infants Health Programme has undertaken very important work in the development of women’s health services since its establishment in 2017, particularly in maternity services, but also in the areas of gynaecology, fertility and sexual assault treatment services. The effect of that work is reflected in this report where we can clearly see the benefits for the women and families accessing health services.

“Women have more choice when it comes to maternity care in 2021, with 24% of pregnant women booked on the Supported Care Pathway. More women could also access more services closer to home, with additional community midwifery services and Early Transfer Home services becoming available.

"We also saw brand new services coming online, with additional ambulatory [out-patient] gynaecology clinics, as well as the establishment of specialised endometrial and menopause clinics in Tallaght and the NMH.

“2021 was a challenging year for the HSE, with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the cyberattack on HSE systems, but this report shows that the programme continued to make significant progress in 2021."

Mr Kilian McGrane, the Director of the NWIHP added: “Despite the major challenges of 2021, our maternity services performed very well and continued to keep women, babies, and staff safe, while delivering quality care in very challenging circumstances. Despite these challenges, 2021 saw a number of important milestones achieved, which we plan to build upon.” 

The NWIHP was established in the HSE to lead the management, organisation and delivery of maternity, gynaecology and neonatal services.