This Government is committed to the progressive development of maternity services and progressing women's health continues to be a priority.
The Government introduced the Public Only Consultant Contract (POCC) on the 8th of March 2023. This contract is a key step in the move towards universal, single-tier healthcare with public hospitals exclusively used for the treatment of public patients and where care is based on medical need, not on the ability to pay, as envisaged in the Sláintecare Report.
A key objective of the POCC is to support equitable access to high-quality maternity care for all women and babies.
Since the launch of the National Maternity Strategy in 2016, significant progress has been made in the development and improvement of public maternity services.
€28 million has been invested in new development funding through the strategy.
This funding has enabled recruitment of over 567 full-time health professionals across our maternity services. This recruitment crosses a broad range of specialties of care. Over 390 midwives and nurses, 53 health and social care professionals, 44 consultants, and a range of support staff. This investment forms part of an overall €80 million invested across our maternity and gynaecology services since the start of the strategy.
Under the strategy care is delivered through three pathways, tailored to the clinical needs and risk profile of each woman and her baby:
• The Supported Care Pathway – for normal-risk pregnancies, led by midwives within a multidisciplinary team.
• The Assisted Care Pathway – for medium-risk pregnancies, or normal-risk pregnancies where obstetric care is chosen.
• The Specialised Care Pathway – for high-risk pregnancies, led by a named consultant obstetrician with midwives and other specialists.
While women’s choice is facilitated wherever possible, patient safety is our overall priority in the delivery of services.
This Government will continue to listen to women and drive improvements across our maternity services for all women, building on the significant progress and investment to date delivered through the National Maternity Strategy.
