All of the country’s 19 maternity units will allow partners to accompany pregnant women for routine visits from next week, the HSE’s chief clinical officer has said.
Despite previous promises from health officials, many couples are still reporting not being able to be together during very difficult stages of pregnancy.
Speaking on Newstalk radio, Dr Colm Henry acknowledged there had been problems with the policy, particularly around infrastructure in some units.
Dr Henry said the latest guidelines would be in place in all maternity units within a week.
“Those four criteria – neo-natal unit, the presence of partners during labour in the labour ward, the anomaly scan, visits to post-natal wards – all units are compliant with those.
“The further easing that took place at the end of June – the early pregnancy assessment units, routine visits for women with high-risk pregnancy and emergency presentations in late gestation – the great majority are compliant with those.”
Dr Henry said the HSE would ensure that all 19 units were fully compliant in the coming week.
