The planned opening of the new €75 million Cork University Maternity Hospital today remained in doubt last night as midwives considered fresh proposals from the Health Service Executive (HSE) to resolve a dispute over staffing levels.
Midwives were set to vote on the new proposals at a meeting called by the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) after union members overwhelmingly rejected earlier proposals from the HSE.
That refusal prompted HSE Cork University Hospital Group general manager Tony McNamara to confirm that the state-of- the-art maternity hospital on the Cork University Hospital campus at Wilton would have sufficient staff to open on time at noon today.
"The HSE wishes to reassure the public and expectant mothers in particular that management is satisfied that sufficient midwives and nurses are available to open 128 beds at the hospital at noon tomorrow," said Mr McNamara.
Mr McNamara was responding to news in the early afternoon that more than 300 public service midwives at Erinville and St Finbarr's hospitals had voted to reject a proposal from the HSE that they would move to the new hospital today. According to INO industrial relations officer Patsy Doyle, 98.5 per cent of midwives voted to reject a proposal from the HSE to open 128 beds today at the 144-bed hospital with a staff complement of 315 midwives, including 64 student midwives.
The INO has consistently rejected the use of student midwives to bring up staff numbers at the new hospital to recommended levels, even though the HSE points out that student midwives are fully qualified general nurses and are used in other Irish teaching maternity hospitals.
This week the Labour Court ruled in favour of the HSE, saying that nursing staff should co- operate with the opening of the hospital. However, Ms Doyle accused the HSE of misrepresenting the situation when it said it had 375 midwives available when it had only 315.
A HSE spokeswoman rejected Ms Doyle's claim.
Ms Doyle said the midwives' vote against the move vindicated the INO's concerns over safe staffing levels at the new hospital, which is to replace the Erinville, St Finbarr's and the private Bons Secours maternity hospitals.
She denied that the INO was putting the safety of mothers and babies in Cork at risk by their actions.
"We, the midwives and all the people at the INO, are fully supportive of the mothers of Cork. We wish to open Cork University Maternity Hospital . . . our members have rejected the offer for under-par staffing and that is in support of the women of Cork - we wish them no harm."