Pandemic posing unique challenge, say hospitals
DUBLIN Lord Mayor Hazel Chu has received positive messages from mothers but also lots of heartbreaking ones and sent them to the three Dublin maternity hospitals, she told the Irish Mail on Sunday.
The Green Party councillor said: ‘I sent off 700 emails with a courier today [Thursday] with a very clear message of, “I want to know your policy, I want a review of your policy and I would like a meeting of the three hospitals together.”
‘I have been told by Holles Street that they were reviewing it and the main problem is having to work in a really tight space and also the risk to staff. And I fully appreciate those risks and I do not want to put any healthcare worker at risk when they have been working so hard. But this is an ongoing problem... the risk is already there when an individual goes in, so if the individual and a member of their household goes in, then that is still risk.
‘A lot of emails were telling me of miscarriages, of not getting a heartbeat anymore and that is heartbreaking.’
In a statement to the MoS, the National Maternity Hospital said the visitor restriction is to ‘protect the health and wellbeing of our patients and our staff’ and with rising [Covid] numbers in the city [we] must be ‘particularly vigilant’.
‘Currently partners are allowed attend labour and birth, and can also visit postnatal inpatients for two-hour periods. In some circumstances they may be able to attend inpatient appointments and scans. There is unrestricted visiting to the Neonatal Intensive Care unit for parents whose babies are being cared for there,’ the statement read.
‘The pandemic is posing a particular challenge in hospitals as we seek to retain the largest staff complement possible, at a time when staff will inevitably become ill or be required to selfisolate from time to time. Hospitals must unfortunately impose these restrictions, to ensure we have specialist staff to treat our patients, and to ensure the safety of patient.
‘We are constantly reviewing guidance available and watching domestic and international developments as we adapt to the unique challenge of providing safe maternity services during a pandemic of this magnitude.’
The HSE said the obstetric clinical leads of each hospital group are committed to ensuring the impact of Covid-19 on the pregnancy experience of every mother and father should be kept to an absolute minimum.
‘Every restriction and deviation from normal practice is a cause of concern and regret. All maternity units now have a strict no visiting policy, the only exception to this is for partners to be present for delivery.’
The HSE said in some cases it may not even be possible to allow partners in at all under ‘particularly difficult circumstances’. It said: ‘An individual unit may be left with no alternative but to restrict even this. Such circumstances might include for example, a high rate of illness in staff resulting in difficulty in maintaining rosters, a temporary shortage of PPE, and/or a high level of hospital activity.’