As Covid-19 backlog persists, preterm and newborn babies could become latest casualties of Ireland’s acute hospital capacity pressures — consultant group

The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has today raised concerns about a lack of consultants and capacity in Ireland’s neonatal services that threatens to impact hospitals’ ability to provide high-quality, specialist care for preterm and new-born babies.

According to the recent Health Information and Quality Authority’s (HIQA) “Overview Report on the National Standards for Safer Better Maternity Services” published in February 2020¹, approximately 10% of newborns are admitted to neonatal units every year, the majority of which are struggling to deliver the required levels of care.