Health bosses reject demand by Cork maternity consultants

Regional health bosses have rejected calls by consultants at Cork’s maternity hospital for the centre to have greater independence from its adult hospital.

Most of the obstetricians and gynaecologists at Cork University Maternity Hospital want it to have a separate management structure and separate funding from Cork University Hospital, according to a letter from 19 consultants to the South/Southwest Hospital Group.

The letter also warned about the dangers of adverse outcomes for women arising from underfunding for the maternity hospital.

The consultants, whose stance is supported by the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, say there have been no new consultant appointments since the hospital opened a decade ago and only one of its two fully-commissioned theatres is in use.

The group has responded by saying management at Cork University Hospital is satisfied that the way to maximise gynaecology activity is through an “integrated approach” with other departments in the hospital.

In a statement, the group said its priority was to maximise the use of existing theatre and other gynaecology resources in Cork University Hospital and other hospitals in the group.

It said that efforts to retain and recruit qualified staff would continue, but this was proving to be “an ongoing challenging issue”.

In Cork, the maternity hospital comes under the management of the university hospital, whose chief executive is Tony McNamara.

This contrasts with the situation at the three Dublin maternity hospitals, which are standalone operations headed by an obstetrician who serves as a master, rather than a chief executive.

New management structure

Dr Peter Boylan, chairman of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a former master of the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin, said maternity services in Cork needed a new management structure with a ringfenced budget.

Almost 4,200 women are awaiting outpatient appointments and procedures at Cork University Hospital, twice as many as in any other hospital.