Republican News · Thursday 31 January 2002

Report falls far short of Monaghan's needs

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In the space of a week, the birth of two children highlighted the need for the reopening of the Maternity Unit at Monaghan General Hospital.

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On 24 July, a baby was born in an ambulance on the roadside en route from Ballybay, Co. Monaghan, to Cavan General Hospital. A doctor and midwife despatched from Cavan did not reach the scene in time. A week earlier, a woman gave birth in Monaghan Hospital itself - even though the hospital now has neither a Maternity Unit nor an A&E unit. Luckily, both mothers and both children are well.

Then, last Friday, a report was published arising out of the tragic death of baby Bronagh Livingstone, whose loss received national attention and highlighted the reality of the Maternity Unit's closure. Sinn Féin Health spokesperson and Cavan/Monaghan TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said the Bonner Report falls far short of what is required but contains recommendations for improvement of the Hospital which should be funded and implemented without delay by the Minister for Health and Children and the North Eastern Health Board.

On the latest roadside birth, he said:

"People campaigning for the restoration of the Maternity Unit at Monaghan have been dismissed repeatedly by the Minister for Health, his Department, the professional bodies and the Health Board Executive when they have raised the prospect of more roadside births and the grave danger to expectant mothers and new-born children. What does it take for them to recognise the reality staring them in the face?"

In his initial comment on the Bonner Report, Ó Caoláin said the Bonner recommendations for services to be provided at Monaghan Hospital are essentially the same as those presented by the CEO of the North Eastern Health Board in September 2002. "There is no recommendation for the full restoration of the Maternity Unit and no recommendation for the restoration of A&E", he said.

"This Report explicitly recognises what it calls the 'huge chasm of mistrust between the community and North Eastern Health Board'. That mistrust is rooted firmly in the failure to restore our Maternity Unit.

"Recommendations for management changes and some service improvements are welcome, but of themselves do not meet what I and colleagues have argued is necessary. Welcome also is the call for capital investment and the implementation of the recommendations by the Government and the NEHB without delay. However, this report falls far short of the needs of the people and much more is required."

Ó Caoláin said it was worthy of note that Minister for Health and Children Mícheál Martin, while acknowledging the Report's recommendations in relation to the range and configuration of acute services to be delivered in Cavan and Monaghan, linked these to the forthcoming Hanley Report on Medical Staffing. "The essential improvements in Monaghan General should not have to await yet another report and the Minister should allocate the necessary resources now to ensure the future of the Hospital."