The maternity unit at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise is to be placed under the control of one of the big Dublin maternity hospitals, in an agreement to be signed today.
The memorandum of understanding between Portlaoise and the Coombe Women's Hospital is due to be signed at Health Service Executive headquarters in Dr Steeven's Hospital in Dublin this morning.
The signing comes just days after it emerged a draft report from the Health Information and Quality Authority is highly critical of the hospital and corporate management in the HSE.
Only this morning, The Irish Times reported on delays on the signing of the MoU, which was recommended in a Department of Health report published over a year ago that found services in Portlaoise were unsafe.
Department chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan had recommended in his report that the unit be placed under the governance of the Coombe in order to provide quality and safe healthcare. He said this should take place before the end of June 2014.
However, the board of the Coombe, which was not consulted before the plan was announced, initially balked at taking on the responsibility without extra staff and resources being provided.
The two hospitals are in the same Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, but this entity still doesn’t have a board and its chief executive, Dr Susan O’Reilly, was appointed just a few months ago.
The move is unusual in that it will see greater control of part of a HSE hospital, Portlaoise, move to a voluntary hospital, the Coombe. The general trend in health governance in recent times has been in the opposite direction.
A number of other changes were made in the wake of Dr Holohan’s report, the HSE has pointed out. These include the appointment of a dedicated management team for the maternity service at Portlaoise, a new hospital manager, an extra obstetrician and additional midwifery posts. Extra training has also been provided for staff.
