PORTLAOISE HOSPITAL UNDERSTAFFING
The INMO says the maternity unit at Portlaoise Hospital is the most under-staffed in country.
It comes as Minister James Reilly takes questions from an Oireachtas Committee over the deaths of four newborn babies at the hospital between 2006 and 2012.
A report into the deaths found that patients and families suffered poor and at times “appalling” care and the maternity unit was neither safe nor sustainable.
Minister James Reilly says understaffing alone can’t explain the ‘human’ failures at Portlaoise.
INMO General Secretary Liam Doran says midwives at Portlaoise have double the recommended workload – and face “intolerable” pressures.
“Portaoise came out as the poorest staffed midwifery unit in the country – at one midwife to 55 births” he said.
“That means the midwives there have double the workload as recommended by birthrate plus, which is accepted as the standard practice”.
“That creates intolerable workloads, it creates intolerable pressures” he added.
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