Hospital visitors and maternity access
Deputy McGrath complained about inconsistent hospital rules, especially around partners attending childbirth and scans, and called for wider family visiting. The Tánaiste said HSE guidance supports partners’ attendance in maternity settings but local infection-control decisions still apply.
I want the Government to bring Mr. Paul Reid before it to get clarification on hospital visits and especially the accompaniment of partners for childbirth, labour or scans, which is not allowed in various hospitals. The hospitals are operating like independent republics. Following the cyberattack, they will not even respond to letters. It is utterly ridiculous that partners are not allowed into hospitals. Thankfully, hospitals now have a limited number of patients. There are only 60 or 70 patients in hospital altogether. For that matter, at least one visitor from a family should be allowed to visit elderly patients. Nobody is allowed into South Tipperary General Hospital. It is shocking that older people have to die alone without the company of a member of the family. Why are all the hospitals operating different policies? Surely one law should apply to everyone. Given the reduced numbers at least one visitor per family should be allowed and partners should be allowed in when a wife or partner is having a baby. A sibling or somebody should be allowed to visit people. It is totally unfair and it needs to be clarified. Paul Reid needs to give an instruction to all the HSE hospitals to have one plan, not different plans for different hospitals.
Comment on this
My understanding is that Paul Reid and the HSE have given general guidance on maternity hospitals saying that it is allowed and indeed advised that partners should attend the birth of their child and attend scans and paediatric or neonatal ICU if their child is in there. However it is the case – it has always been the case and will always be the case - that on occasion we must allow decisions to be made by local hospitals themselves, by the senior nurse or consultant who is the person in charge of infection control, because we will have situations where there are outbreaks or issues in certain hospitals and therefore they need to be able to have autonomy in making those decisions. I hope this will not be a problem for too long.
