Hopes were raised last night that the new €75 million Cork University Maternity Hospital would open today as scheduled after it emerged that nursing union representatives had recommended that midwives accept a revised proposal from the HSE on staffing levels.
A discussion meeting attended by midwives in Cork looked set to continue late last night but hopes of a resolution being reached were boosted after it emerged that the Irish Nurses Organisation executive had recommended acceptance of the new proposal.
The Irish Times understands that the proposal involved a number of commitments by the HSE including one that senior midwifery management would carry out a weekly review with local INO representatives on progress towards achieving a full complement of midwives.
The proposal also involved a commitment to higher level reviews after eight weeks along with a commitment to re-engage international expert Marie Washbrook to carry out a review of staffing levels on June 1st at the new hospital.
The HSE offer also included commitments to seek additional agency staff immediately and to pay overtime rates to staff who may be required to do so in the short term until the additional staff are recruited and the full complement of 375 is achieved.
The HSE offer came after a day of confusion and uncertainty after more than 300 public service midwives and INO members at the Erinville and St Finbarr's hospitals had voted to reject an earlier proposal from the HSE that they would move to the new hospital today.
According to INO industrial relations officer, Patsy Doyle, some 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 some 64 student midwives.
The INO has consistently rejected the use of student midwives to bring up staff numbers at CUMH to recommended levels even though the HSE pointed out that student midwives are fully qualified general nurses and are widely used in other Irish teaching maternity hospitals.
However, despite the first proposal being rejected and prior to the INO meeting on the second proposal, HSE Cork University Hospital group general manager Tony McNamara assured ex- pectant mothers that the new hospital would open on schedule. "The HSE wishes to reassure the public and expectant mothers in particular that management is satisfied that sufficient midwives/ nurses are available to open 128 beds at the hospital at 12 noon tomorrow," he said.