Maternity Services at CGH to merge

The Midwifery Led Unit (MLU) and consultancy run maternity services at Cavan General Hospital are set to merge, The Anglo-Celt understands.

The realignment of services under the umbrella of Cavan-Monaghan Maternity Services is understood to have begun earlier this week, and comes following a recommendation from within the RCSI Hospital Group.

The merger is not seen as a downgrading of services within the hospital.

Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan Niamh Smyth has sought urgent clarification from the Department of Health regarding the future of the MLU.

She issued a press release this afternoon stating that she had received correspondence from stakeholders that the unit “is set to be closed”.

“The Minister for Health and his Department must immediately clarify the status of the MLU in Cavan General Hospital. I understand the unit is set to be closed. This has caused considerable shock to the staff, patients and residents in Counties Cavan and Monaghan,” stated Deputy Smyth.

The MLU unit supports women through pregnancy and in-home care after a child is born.

It is only one of two units in the country.

Deputy Smyth continued by saying that midwives are some of the “most dedicated” in the country. “There should be no doubts over their future,” the Cavan-Monaghan TD said, adding: “The MLU plays a vital role in the lives of expectant mothers. It is imperative that the future of the unit is clarified for so many stakeholders who right now are concerned for the future.”