Report says maternity service not safe or sustainable

The maternity service at the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise cannot be regarded as safe and sustainable within its current governance arrangements, a Department of Health report into the deaths of a number of infants at the hospital has found. The report was ordered after an RTÉ television Prime Time programme on January 30th last reported on the deaths of four babies between 2007 and 2012. The report drawn up by the department’s chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan also said that families and patients had been treated in a poor and, at times, appalling manner, with limited respect, kindness, courtesy and consideration. (Times) >