Obstetric servicesOne of the Republic's busiest private maternity hospitals has confirmed that it will close in 15 months with all 80 nursing and care staff being given the option of transferring to a new €75 million centralised maternity unit in Cork.
The Bons Secours Maternity Hospital - which has had more than 100,000 deliveries since it opened in 1958 and currently assists in the birth of around 1,800 babies a year - will transfer its obstetrics service from March 1st, 2007 to the new Cork University Maternity Hospital.
The Bons Secours confirmed that bookings at the hospital's maternity unit would continue and existing maternity services at the Bons would continue until this date when an overnight transfer of patients would take place to university hospital which is opening late next year.
The new unit will replace the existing facilities at St Finbarr's Hospital, the Erinville Hospital and the Bons Secours and is designed to cater for about 7,000 births annually in the Cork region.
Bons Hospital general manager Harry Canning said the decision to close the obstetrics unit, which costs around €6 million a year to run, was regrettable but he pointed out that the hospital would continue to provide gynaecological services.
"It is simply not economically feasible to continue an obstetric service at the Bon Secours in light of the new, large-capacity publicly funded maternity facility at Cork University Hospital," said Mr Canning.
In 2003, Mr Canning warned about the ability of private obstetricians to continue providing a service with the imminent introduction of the new Clinical Indemnity scheme where the Government no longer ring-fenced funds for payouts of claims against obstetricians.
According to a Bons Secours spokeswoman, the issue of rising insurance costs in private hospitals was a consideration for the hospital, but the main reason behind the decision to close the maternity unit was simply the opening of a new publicly funded hospital nearby.
The spokeswoman said the four obstetricians at the Bons will transfer their private obstetric practices to rooms in the university maternity hospital, though they will continue to provide gynaecological services at the Bons. All 80 care staff at the Bons maternity unit comprising nursery nurses and midwives will have the option of transferring with the same grades and pension entitlements or undergoing retraining if necessary and remaining at the Bons which has 1,000 staff.
The spokeswoman said that management at the hospital was to work closely with university maternity hospital management in the lead-in to the move to ensure a seamless transfer of services for patients.
"In the interim, the Bons Secours is keen to reassure all mothers currently booked with the hospital that their care will in no way be affected by this decision and the hospital is writing to all expectant mothers booked with the hospital and to their GPs to convey this message," she said.
An information phoneline service for anyone with a query in relation to the announcement has been set up on 1800-200-623 and information is also available at www.bonsecoursireland.org.
Meanwhile, the Bons Secours spokeswoman has confirmed that the hospital board is currently finalising a major development plan for the hospital which will enhance existing services, in particular cancer and cardiology as well as developing a private accident and emergency unit.
