Sir, – The need for the new hospital to be located within the environs of a maternity hospital (Letters, November 1st) is noted as being part of the RKW report which was published this day in 2007. Indeed the RKW report is often quoted as a vindication of the possible location for this New Children’s Hospital site at St James’s Hospital campus.
It is curious, however, that these esteemed professionals seem to have forgotten the KPMG report The Independent Review of Maternity and Gynaecology Services in the Greater Dublin Area (August, 2008) which was called upon: “1. To build on the strengths of the current service configuration and model of care; 2. To define the optimal configuration of maternity, gynaecology and neonatology services for the GDA; 3. To identify the optimal location of services; and 4. To provide a roadmap for the future, outlining the steps required to get from where the service is now to our vision for the future.” It speaks of the inadequate infrastructure which compromises privacy and dignity for patients whilst also increasing the likelihood of the spread of infections and the fact that the number of delivery suites at the hospitals is well below those needed to deliver the current level of demand. This report concluded that the Coombe Women’s Hospital should be relocated to the Tallaght Hospital campus to deal with the growing need for maternity services in this region.
Today in Tallaght Hospital ante-natal clinics are held for the expectant mothers in the area in conjunction with the Coombe Hospital. The inclusion of a maternity hospital was mooted when the hospital in Tallaght was originally planned, but the finances of the day precluded Tallaght Hospital being the first “cradle to grave” hospital in Ireland from being constructed.
It would seem, if the speculation is to be believed, that the same constraints of finances, political expediency and medical politics will prevail in the this hospital decision too! It would seem “some” HSE/DOHC reports carry more weight than others in the latest debate on locations for health care delivery. – Yours, etc,